


Heads in Beds

by Maiden_of_Wolves



Category: Seduce Me (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Multi, Not Rated only because it tends to bounce between just Mature and Explicit, Past Abuse, Psychological Trauma, Slow To Update, There will also be a side romance between another OC and Sam ;P, Will probably bring in Diana Way Later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-03-29 21:52:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13936179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiden_of_Wolves/pseuds/Maiden_of_Wolves
Summary: A massive AU. Harold Anderson underestimated how much magic he needed to get the boys to this world and died within the first few hours of bringing them through. Thankfully for the now very nervous incubi boys, he had a friend who was willing to help. She would teach them about the human world, get them set up within it. However, when they arrive at the secluded B&B in Virgnia, K realizes that the woman they sought is no longer alive. Will her daughter help them?This AU explores the boys learning about the human world. For the sake of the game it made sense that they've been traveling around the world for 6 months and know all about the human world, but it had always intrigued me how many new things they'd had to learn. So, both for my own curiosities and because I thought others would enjoy the scenes, I'm writing an AU about it all.Warning: There will be HEAVY themes of past abuse, psychological trauma from those events, and even dealing with how the incubi's enthrallment is actually pretty sketchy in terms of consent obtaining. Still, there will be a fair amount of cute fluff and a love triangle and lots of drama. Hope you all enjoy reading as much as I've been enjoying writing this!





	1. The Fox's Hideaway Inn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Isianya (my beta reader and best RP partner ever)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Isianya+%28my+beta+reader+and+best+RP+partner+ever%29).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title isn’t set in stone. I may change it later.  
> Hopefully it’s interesting to more than just me! Let me know, fandom! ;3

Everything in Thea’s life had apparently decided it wanted to fall apart in one fell swoop. Or, to be more precise, one very hectic eight month span of time. She had lost her job at a previously promising start up as the company frantically cut “new” hires out to save their shrinking bottom line. She’d been there for four years and everything had seemed right with the world. Instead of sweet, safe mediocrity the rug was pulled out from under her and Thea couldn’t find a bottom. She applied to any job she could and got very few call backs. Those that did were offering part time jobs and nothing was guaranteed for hours. She exhausted her savings long before she’d ever anticipated and was soon struggling. She was late on her rent and begging for leniency from her landlord while seeing by candlelight at night, showering and eating with friends whenever possible and using public facilities for the former when it wasn’t.

 

As she fell the world decided to both take another swipe at her in the form of her mother’s death. They hadn’t been on speaking terms for five years, but Thea wasn’t surprised to find that she was the sole person listed on her will. Still, the added burden of dealing with the news as well as the estate wasn’t something she felt she could deal with.

 

She’d found herself completely at a loss until the mention of the Bed and Breakfast that was apparently part of her mother’s estate. Thea had remembered her mother talking about it when they were still in contact, how it was so exciting and new and going well. The memory was bittersweet, as were most of those that had her mother in them. In the general description that the lawyer her mother had tasked with helping her execute the will gave, there was an innkeeper’s quarters. She could **live** there. It was a lifeline, but one that came with a lot of strings. Even as Thea accepted it was quite likely her only option, she laughed to herself about how even in death things were not easy between her and her mother. _You couldn’t just give me something simple? A regular house with a paid off mortgage, maybe?_ She remembered thinking and laughing again to herself. That wasn’t her mother. Juliana did not give handouts regardless of her own upbringing being given the best hand-picked fruit of the world. You had to work for it or you didn’t deserve it. At least, once you were old enough to be able to work.

 

Thea sold off what she could of her belongings and traveled back to her home state, Virginia, in her beat up ‘98 Toyota stuffed with her physical possessions. The inn itself was not at all what she had expected, but then again she wasn’t certain what she **had** been expecting since she’d never had the extra cash or the wish to stay in one before. They were typically too fancy for her tastes and too expensive for her usually bare-bones wallet. This one was rather modern, sitting atop a hill with 360 degree views of the rolling hills and Blue Mountains in the distance.

 

When she arrived, she forgot about unpacking for a good five minutes while she stared at the setting. _At least this’ll be a great place to watch the fireworks at 4th of July_ … she noted to herself, _since I probably won’t be able to get time off to go enjoy a show as usual._ Her old job had given her several more holidays than the typical mandated ones and it had become a very fun tradition to go with friends and watch a fireworks display. Now, though, she had to reconnect with old friends here and maybe she could make her own viewing party up here. The idea made her smile. This would be a good place, if unconventional.

 

The lawyer, Nathaniel, met her at the door and opened it with a practiced hand at the keypad. This hadn’t been the first time he’d visited when he needed to unlock the door, apparently. He ushered her inside and starting to explain the general layout. She was glad to not be ushered inside because she’d done something **wrong** for once.

 

“It’s a really big place,” he said as they came into a large, open room filled with tables and chairs. The fireplace at its back was flanked by both doors to a porch and by windows. “I’ve got the building plan right here if you want to take a look.”

 

“Yeah, thanks Nate,” Thea replied, watching as the middle aged man took out a large rolled piece of paper and spread it out on the table. The edges curled and threatened to roll right back up so Thea held it in place in two opposite corners while he went to find something to hold it down. She trusted Nathaniel well enough, having known him for a couple years even before she left with Keith. Her mother and him had been friends and, she’d previously suspected something more but said nothing. She didn’t want to know about her mom’s love life and the thought alone left a bad taste in her mouth. Thea was just glad her mother had never tried to foist a man onto her as her step-dad. That, she knew, wouldn’t have gone well.

 

While Nathaniel was away, she examined the paper in detail. There were twelve bedrooms on the property in total. That was excluding one that was clearly away from everyone else by what appeared to be a spiral staircase and it was on the third floor alone like her mother had re-fitted the attic or something. As it was labeled “master” the suspicion of it being the noted “innkeeper quarters” that had gotten her to come here was confirmed. It was a weird set up, but Thea could only shrug. She’d stopped trying to understand her mother when she locked her out of her office and refused any attempt she made to interact for days. There were just things Juliana Kilgore did differently and, frankly, Thea had stopped caring a long time ago. What use was it if she was always going to get pushed away? One only had so much emotional energy, after all.

 

Her memories and musings were interrupted as Nathaniel came back. “This should work,” he said, pausing at the far corners to put down a tape dispenser, empty drinking glass, polished geode and letter opener. As Thea released her hold, the paper kept its flattened place on the table and she sighed out in relief.

 

“Well,” the lawyer said, “this is a pretty big place.” He was repeating himself, but it went unnoticed by both of them.

 

“I noticed, looking over the blueprints here…”

 

“Julia had a few people working here with her, I think... seven...? It’s been a little while since I’ve been up here myself. Your mother wasn’t certain if you’d want to take over the business, so she didn’t prepare for that possibility. As far as I’m aware, they were all let go when your mother passed.”

 

“She just let it sit here, then?” Thea asked, a brow quirking as she looked to the lawyer. That seemed unlike her mother, but she supposed since they’d been out of contact for so long the woman must have assumed she’d want as little to do with her life as possible.

 

“Not exactly. It’s up on the market right now. There are buyers out there with the capital to invest in a well-known business.” He paused, reaching over and placing a hand on Thea’s shoulder. Nate’s brown eyes regarded her kindly and with a tinge of pity. “You still don’t have to commit to this even now, since no one’s put in an offer yet.”

 

The touch made her stiffen, but she managed to keep the reaction to a minimum. “I…” Thea began, not sure how to explain. She didn’t really want to say her life had been falling apart at the seams and this opportunity was the one light in the dark. After a moment, she furrowed her brows and set her jaw. “Stuff wasn’t going so well back home, so it’s best that I was given the opportunity to restart back in a familiar area.” She managed to force herself to relax and offer a small smile. “I have every intention of taking over the place and living here.”

 

He returned her smile. “Good,” he replied. “Julianna would have been happy to hear that.”

 

Thea didn’t answer, her own smile faltering. She didn’t really care what her mother would have wanted. She was gone. She had been for a long time as far as Thea was concerned and she didn’t want to think about her more than necessary. The funeral had been hard enough to get through with all those people walking up and telling her how wonderful her mother was. It was as if to the rest of the world she’d never changed from when she was a kid. Oh, how little they knew.

 

“Anyway, I’m sure she had a record of everyone that she’d hired previously. They might be interested in coming back if you tell them you’re taking over the place.”

 

“Maybe,” Thea admitted. _But I really don’t want to work with the people that worked with Mom_ , she thought to herself. She probably had little choice in the matter, seeing as there were so many rooms to take care of and she barely knew the first thing about dealing with a B&B’s needs. For the time being, though, she just chuckled. “Well, I’m sure Mom left plenty of instructions for just about everything. Just like she did with the funeral.” There had been notes down to the kind of flowers she had wanted and where in the specific room of the specific funeral home she’d wanted the vases. It had infuriated Thea because it felt like she had absolutely no say in anything. Her mother may have well been alive with how Thea gritted her teeth through the whole process.

 

He laughed, reaching over and patting her shoulder. “She was always one for particulars,” he mused. “Judging by your tone, I take it that you’re not?”

 

Thea barked out a laugh, hay-colored locks blocking her vision for a moment as she jerked her head up with the noise. “Only if I’m doing it. Micromanaging **other** people is not something I would ever bother with.”

 

“Good luck with that,” he noted. “This place will need a lot of caretaking…”

 

Thea shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.”

 

~*~

 

Part of her ‘figuring it out’ was getting back in touch with her best friend from high school: Crystal Hemmer. They’d kept in general contact when she moved out west but they hadn’t seen each other until the funeral. Crystal had even taken her drinking that night, just to help her de-stress, and made sure she was the one driving so that Thea could have as much as she wanted.

 

“Feeling up to a little exploration, buddy ol’ pal?” Crystal called from the front double doors with a broad grin. She let the one she’d all but yanked open close with a hearty _thump_. Her somehow always perfect brunette curls bounced about her face as she nearly skipped her way towards her friend. “You weren’t lookin’ so good when I tucked you into bed last night~”

 

Thea just chuckled and shook her head. “You just flopped me on the couch and covered me with my jacket,” she reminded her friend. She only got a noncommittal shrug in reply and realized that she wasn’t going to make her take back the statement. “How are you always so chipper anyways?”

 

Crystal’s green eyes glittered. “Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.”

 

“Ewww…” Thea said, showing her tongue as she scrunched up her nose.

 

“You keep your fancy tea and I’ll keep my common man coffee, how about that?”

 

Thea rolled her eyes. “The most expensive tea I’ve ever gotten was specifically camomile to help me sleep. It was like 2 bucks a tin.”

 

“Yeah, and Folgers is like 5 bucks for a container that lasts you a month. Case, meet resolution.”

 

“Whatever, man,” the innkeeper sighed heavily, running a hand through her short hair.

 

“Oh, and I forgot to say yesterday,” Crystal said, “glad that you decided to ditch the specs. You look  better without ‘em.”

 

Thea’s lips parted in a small smile. “I still have ‘em, but I just use them at home. When I don’t have to go anywhere. You know I couldn’t drive without **something**.”

 

“Just about killed us with that truck you cut off,” Crystal reminded her with a laugh.

 

Thea rubbed at the back of her neck, remembering how she’s startled everyone in the car awake with that move. Crystal had told her to take a certain exit and she couldn’t read the damn sign until around 200 feet before hand and had cut off a farm truck. “Hey, it’s not my fault that y’all were drunk and I was the only sober one with a license. You’re lucky I had the car for school and could take you all back.”

 

“You did tend to save our asses back in the day…”

 

“More than you’ll ever admit, Crys,” Thea sighed.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her friend put on a dramatic pout and Thea knew she was just teasing. The pair laughed, exchanging light shoves.

 

They settled down slowly, grinning at each other for a bit before Thea finally decided to get them back on track. They could talk forever about the past, but the current situation was far more pressing.

“You said before that you’d worked at a place like this?”

 

“Yeah! A few years back. For, like, two or three years. Summers during college.”

 

 _College_ … Thea’s mind stuck on the word. She’d wanted to go, but life hadn’t steered her that way. She still wanted to, but considering she just decided to take on a business she didn’t have much hope for getting a degree. Hell, she didn’t even know what she’d go for at this point. Thea forced herself to refocus. “Well, wanna help me take a look around and give me some pointers from your experience?”

 

Crystal gave her a bit of a confused look. “Didn’t your mom leave notes or something?”

 

“...I’m sure she did,” Thea replied bitterly, trying her hardest not to snap at her friend. “But I’d rather not look through any of her things until I **have** to.”

 

Her friend shrugged. “Fair enough. I know how you guys were. I get it.”

 

 _You really don’t, but through no fault of your own_ , Thea thought. Crystal’s mother had been intently involved in her life and supported her in anything she did. A stay at home mom with a dad that was an architect. Sometimes, Thea had felt like Crystal’s mom treated her like another daughter, but it was only ever temporary and she knew that. Those brief times, though, she remembered fondly and cherished. ‘Family’ outings to go see polo matches, go tubing on the slopes of Massanutten or down the James River… she had a lot of good memories to pull from. It just always stuck in her craw that it wasn’t with her **actual** mother.

 

“Let’s see what your mom had goin’ on here, shall we?” Crystal chirped, finally reaching out to her friend and batting her playfully on the upper arm.

 

“Ow! Hey!” Thea whined, pretending to rub at the ‘injury’ her friend had just given her.

 

“I didn’t hurt you, ya baby!” Crystal said, pursing her lips for a moment before waving to Thea. “C’mon!”

 

Thea smiled, her grey eyes shimmering with the light of the great room chandelier as she followed after her friend.

 

~*~

 

By the time dinner was rolling around, they’d gotten pretty familiar with layout of the inn. The spiral staircase (which even Crystal thought was an odd choice in the middle of a house) that went to the master bedroom was surrounded by a living area and to its right was the kitchen. It was, by far, the fanciest kitchen that Thea had ever seen. Crystal pointed out the 5-place induction cooktop and dual ovens with even more than her usual excitement. A center island could be accessed from all around the kitchen and held storage and had most of the pots and pans hanging above it. There was even a pass-through cut in the wall beside the sink to serve food to the guests that would be sitting in the great room. For the time being, they avoided the spiral staircase, since she’d only need to see that part when she was headed to bed and she didn’t want to share any emotions her mother’s things brought up with Crystal.

 

The individual rooms in the main house each had their own themes and her mother, true to her detailed ways, had named each one in accordance with those themes. While each one had at least a queen bed, some kind of working area, a lounge and TV area and a full bath with dual sinks, toilet as well as bath and/or shower, the differences were enough to appeal to specific tastes.

 

The Crane’s Rest was delicately laid out with a chaise at the end of a four poster bed and a small writing desk beneath a set of windows.  The television was conveniently placed on the wall in front of both the chaise and the bed. Its bathroom echoed the cream and gold coloration of the main room but the standing shower had silver and blue tiling to make it stand out. There was a lengthy portrait of a crane hanging on the wall by the door that headed outside. The exit was within two steps of a swing and that side of the inn looked out over a few hills and to the small, relatively quiet nearby cityscape.

 

The Rabbit’s Burrow was decorated in light browns and greens with a up-close photograph of a local Eastern Cottontail. No doubt Julianna had purchased it at the yearly Fall Foliage festival off a local photographer. Thea wasn’t surprised: her mother had always liked supporting local businesses over chains in anything she could. Something about ‘needing to give back’ was the reasoning, she recalled. The simple queen bed had a very fluffy brown blanket laid about the bottom of it and Thea indulged in petting it as Crystal took a look around. When her friend caught her feeling the fluff, she grinned and Thea immediately released it with an embarrassed huff. This room only had one window, but the door was mostly glass as was the case with the other rooms so there were still a fair amount of sunlight coming in. It felt warm and cozy, certainly living up to its ‘burrow’ name.

 

The Den was, as Thea later found out from her mother’s notes, the star room. It was certainly larger than the other two but it only had the glass door to let light in. The room was decorated in rich reds and highlighted with light brown. The wood on the bed, nightstands and for the chaise at the end of it was a deep mahogany. There was enough room for a proper sitting area with two separate chairs that Crystal and Thea quickly found to be impressively comfortable recliners. Those chairs were settled in front of a fireplace, with the television mounted above that. On the way to the bathroom there was another local photograph of a red fox, beautifully framed in the same deep mahogany that accented the rest of the room. The bathroom itself was impressive, with a large jacuzzi tub and two person steam shower and lightened the color theme but not so much as to not blend in. Though the main room had two windows in addition to the glass door, it felt even warmer and darker than the Rabbit’s Burrow had.

 

One thing that did catch both of their curiosities - that three of the rooms were right up against one another and each had two separated full-sized beds. They were also more sparsely decorated than the other rooms. Later, while scouring her mother’s office that was just off from the main entrance, she found that these rooms had been meant specifically for hikers or other sportspeople who came here for events like the fly fishing festival and were priced lower than the rest to accommodate either very short or week-long stays. They were simply labeled “Base Camp” 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

 

The wrap around porches on the main house extended around the full building on the first floor, but only the front and the sides on the second floor. Each side had at least one set of swings to help enjoy the view, except for the back on the first floor which was filled with tables and chairs. Thea didn’t need her mother’s notes to tell her what **those** were for. Virginia was known for its relatively fair weather most of the year, so those tables would be put to good use.

 

The Cardinal’s Perch was on the second floor, windows and exit to the porch facing the front of the building. Swings were nearby on both sides, but just out of view of the windows. Again, Thea found herself impressed with her mother. She would never say so, and she would never admit that it made her hope she could be as good at planning as her mother had been… one day. The bathroom in this room only held a large shower, but it didn’t seem like it needed anything more. Even the way the queen bed seemed to fill the main room space just enough was comforting. There were reds in this room like The Den, but bright and with tan accents so the room was much lighter with sunlight’s kiss than the signature room below it.

 

The Beehive was another second floor room. It was filled with soft yellows and accented with tasteful light wood. There were several windows and though each one could have curtains pulled if one wanted to, it wasn’t too bright on the eyes. The queen bed’s linens looked rough but were surprisingly pleasant to the touch. The bathroom was simple, but held both a bath and tiled shower. The windows overlooked the sparsely populated valley, away from the local city. An image of a hive sitting on a stand, filled with and surrounded by bees was hung near the wall towards the exit door.

 

The Dolphin was all on its own on the second floor, windows abound along its walls. The queen bed linens appeared silken and shimmered in all the natural light that flooded the room. Here the color themes were as expected: brilliant blues and subtle greens. It wasn’t until you got to the large bathroom that you saw the portrait of a breaching dolphin to complete the theme. There was both a bath and shower but the shower was yet another steam shower so it felt like a more luxurious bathroom than most of the other rooms.

 

Two large rooms were located in a separate building entirely from the rest. They were supposed to be able to hold up to 6 people, according to her mother’s notes, and the signs at their doors read “Manatee Cove” and “Meerkat Manor”. Manatee Cove could have the king bed on the first floor pulled back via wheels on the feet of the bed into a room beside the laundry area and then the door shut and curtains drawn over it in order to set up a large meeting area. Her mother had really thought of everything. Thea, despite her misgivings, found herself begrudgingly impressed the more she discovered. Each of these rooms were only ‘connected’ by the laundry area, though that could only be accessed by the outside entrance which had its own lock. Both rooms had their own wrap around porch with straw-colored wicker lounge furniture that had crimson plush cushions to help offset the firmness of the chair and chaise material.

 

The pair wandered back to the main house without a care in the world, pausing on the porch to take in the view.

 

“Leaves’ll be changin’ soon,” Crystal reminded Thea. “You might wanna open up as soon as possible.”

 

“It’s summer, Crystal,” Thea replied, her voice deadpan as she furrowed her brows and looked at her friend.

 

“I’m just sayin’,” Crystal said, shrugging. “You’re gonna want to get the place back open soon. Got any hires in mind?”

 

“No, but I’ll figure something out,” Thea said the phrase for the second time that day.

 

“You really should hire back the people that were here, you know,” Crystal said, though she looked to her friend with a bit of pity. She understood why Thea didn’t want to: she didn’t want anyone telling her how her mother was so wonderful, like at the funeral. “They know the place, know your mom’s routines and could have this place running much easier. Maybe you’d have time to take classes?”

 

Thea just hummed to herself. The pair were quiet for a few moments before she finally spoke up. “Ever think about coming back to this? Full time?” she asked after a moment, a small, teasing smile parting her lips as she looked at her friend.

 

“Not before now,” Crystal admitted. “I’ll at least be around for you. Just give me a buzz when you need help. But I will think about the offer. Better be prepared to pay me more than minimum wage, bud. I may be your friend, but I need to eat.”

 

Thea chuckled. “You can eat here! It’ll be covered by the inn.”

 

“Not unless you give me a bundle to take away everyday.”

 

“You want a picnic basket, Yogi?”

 

They both laughed at that.

 

When the amusement died down, Crystal grasped her friend’s hand. “Want a hug?” she asked, her expression serious and mixed with pity.

 

While Thea wasn’t keen on accepting charity or pity, she just sighed, “yeah.”

 

The friends held each other for a good minute before letting go. “It’s great having you back,” Crystal said. “I missed you.”

 

“Yeah, well, you had money to visit,” Thea teased.

 

“ **Mom** had money to visit. I had no time. You know how nursing is. You can make decent money, but it’s your life.”

 

“I know,” Thea assured her friend, offering up a small smile. “Thanks for getting the time off to deal with me yesterday. I really, **really** needed that.”

 

“Anytime, hun,” Crystal said, offering a wink in return. “Love ya!”

 

That said, Crystal wandered around Thea and headed to her car. The innkeeper sighed again and followed after her friend, stopping at the porch’s railing to lean over and watch her friend get in her car and drive away. She waved after the little blue Prius had gotten going and until she couldn’t see the car windows anymore.

 

The moment she couldn’t see her friend, Thea’s head and heart hurt. She sank into the closest swing and she let her thoughts railroad through her mind. This place was huge. There was so much to do. She had to go through her mother’s things. She had to **sleep** in her **mother’s** bed! It was all too much but she still had to do it, and relatively quickly. Crystal had been right: she needed to open up as soon as possible. Her mother had left some money to her as well, and that would probably pay for a few months of bills for this place on its own, but not much longer than that. She couldn’t put this off any more than she already had.

 

She headed back to the front doors, squeezing one of the handles to start pushing it open but jerked out of surprise as a massive crash and grinding of metal resounded from down the hill. “What?” she asked herself. “The fuck…?”

 

 _Of course_ , she noted sourly to herself, though she was beginning to panic at the images of Crystal’s little car wrapped in the wrought iron bars of the gate at the base of the hill. _The moment I reconnect with anyone. With_ **_nice_ ** _people especially, they get hurt._ It wasn’t true most of the time, unless Keith found her, but she couldn’t help thinking it. _It’s like he follows even when he’s not here and makes sure I can’t have anything good in my life._

 

As she headed down the stairs to the parking lot, however, her rational mind kicked in. It couldn’t have been Crystal running into the gate— she’d given her the code and she’d gotten up here fine. Plus, she’d been gone for at least 5 minutes, probably closer to 10. Thea pulled the door she had started to open shut, unable to think herself out of trying to track down the sound. It was a classic stupid move, one that she often criticized horror movie characters for taking, but this was her home now. She had to make sure everything was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the incubaes are coming in the next chapter. Just had to leave it here because it was getting too long. xD I need to re-learn how to write fanfic chapters… it’s been too long.


	2. Not the BEST Introduction...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Managed to shorten this one to half the pages of last time. I’m getting better! xD  
> Also, the boys are here! ;3 and Thea is not going to welcome them like she did Crystal.

She heard the yelling even before she got to the stairs going down to the secondary parking area.

 

“We should have gone around that, Ao— Sam,” a stern male voice chided, clearly correcting himself in regards to the name. “And you shouldn’t have wasted that energy.”

 

What the hell was going on? Thea’s hands scrambled, one digging into her pocket and dragging out her phone. Whatever it was, she couldn’t deal with this alone.  _ Don’t be the horror movie hero _ , she chastised herself.  _ You’ve already been in one long enough _ . She glanced down at her phone, holding the circle at its base down long enough to bring up the main screen.  _ Emergency _ she tapped the option in settings.

 

“Yeah,  **maybe** , but this was way faster. It’s not like we have the time to be polite!” another male yelled, apparently the one called Sam, voice rough and it sounded like there were two different voices echoing each other.

 

_ Injury _ it read or  _ Report a Crime _ . Thea growled under her breath, “both, possibly…” She just hit  _ Report a Crime _ . At the very least something bad had happened. She could apologize if it was wrong.

 

“You will be fine. Ms. Kilgore knows Holy and Demon magic, she’ll tend to you.” A woman said firmly.

 

_ Holy and Demon Magic? What drugs are these people on?! _ The scene finally came into focus as Thea got to the top of the stairs. Her eyes immediately widened, her confusion over words was shoved to the side. The gate was ripped off its hinges, which explained the grating metal sound previously. There were three people standing outside a silver van, which looked to be damaged as if it had been in a crash. The front end barely had any damage to it, so they hadn’t used it to mow the gate down, but that only left more questions. She couldn’t see more than one side and the front with how it was parked, but that side was littered with indents in the metal ranging from golf ball size to a quarter of a door. The tiny ones could have been hail, she supposed, but hail wouldn’t come at you from the side. She wasn’t sure how they’d even gotten out of the car, honestly, with how warped the sliding door was. What had happened to that car? It wasn’t bullet holes, but then what were they?

 

Two of the people were men and were clearly squaring off either while or in the middle of a fight or argument. She noticed how the aggressive brunette was leaning over slightly and had an arm around his midsection. He was wounded. Which made sense, considering what the redheaded woman that was with them had just said. Another curiosity was that they were both wearing simple white T-shirts and jeans, as if they were intentionally trying to be either matching or as bland as possible.

 

The woman spoke, though she was too quiet for Thea to understand at that distance, her gaze shifting to catch Thea’s. The redhead’s expression turned to confusion and her mouth opened to speak again.

 

Anything the woman could have said, however, was blocked out by Sam apparently materializing in front of Thea. She took several steps backwards. “How the—”   _ There’re like 30 steps! How the holy hell did he do that in a blink?! _

 

“Woman. You need to heal me,” he growled, closing some of the gap she had made with normal steps. His gaze bored into her, eyes flickering between a brilliant emerald green and startling gold.

 

Thea glanced frantically at the blood that was on his hand and the holes ripped into his shirt at his abdomen. “What in the hell happened to you?” she asked, knowing it was a stupid question but finding it to be the only coherent thing she could get to come out of her mouth. Had she gotten free of one relationship just to end up the victim of a stranger? She heard a voice from her phone but then suddenly it went quiet. She glanced at it, but Sam was advancing and he was the real concern.

 

“Don’t have time for questions,” he snapped, continuing to close the gap she’d made. “Use your magic.”

 

“Ma-magic?” she repeated, stumbling over the word and taking more steps backwards. “I don’t see how parlor tricks will fix bleeding wounds!”

 

Sam reached out and grasped her free hand’s wrist, jerking it towards his wounds. He glared at her, teeth gritted in what she assumed was a mix of pain and anger. His eyes were flickering far more towards the haunting gold. “Heal. Me.” While it wasn’t a plea, the desperation in his voice was clear.

 

Thea wanted to help, but she didn’t know how. She struggled in his grip. “ **Again** , don’t know how parlor tricks are going to help—”

 

“Sam, stop!” The woman from earlier cried, suddenly running up next to him. She gripped his arm, though she was panting and out of breath.

 

Thea swore she saw a shimmer of something in her hand, but it faded as quickly as she noted it. Thea’s phone emitted a quiet jingle, apparently shutting down. She panicked internally, wondering if she’d left it off the charger for too long in the car, but she knew she didn’t exactly have the luxury of checking now. She was on her own.

 

“This is not the woman I told you about. Let go,” the other woman instructed.

 

“Then where is she?!” he snapped, nails leaving scrapes in their wake as he tore his hand away from Thea’s wrist.

 

“I’m sorry, but where is Julianna Kilgore?” the woman asked, clearly trying to sound both apologetic and concerned. Thea’s attention was jerked to her for only a moment before Sam spoke up again.

 

“I don’t have time to be pol—”

 

“She’s dead.” Thea interrupted Sam without hesitation, her uninjured hand gently rubbing at the scratches he had left behind. She carefully slipped her phone back into her pocket. Her voice was flat, but her gaze was already swimming slightly with the tears that threatened to form in full. “What do you all want with my mother?” her jaw set and she stared at them, her voice quiet but harsh. She didn’t understand why she was being so defensive about her, since just ten minutes ago she was bitching in her head about her, but these guys felt like nothing but trouble. At some point the tall black haired male that Sam had been fighting with had arrived and stood on the opposite side of Sam from the redhead. “She’s only been in the ground a day and the world sees fit to send people after her—?”

 

“Please, Miss,” the tall male interrupted, reaching out a hand to emphasize the request to speak. “I know this is all very difficult, but Sam really does need your assistance. If Miss Kilgore is no longer here, you will need to help—”

 

“You come in here, **he** **_somehow_** **tears** my gate **off its hinges** and you want me to **_help_** **him**?” Thea growled, not at all caring that she interrupted him. “I don’t know who you are, or what you want and you’re on **_my_** **property**. Don’t you **dare** tell **me** what to fuckin’ do.” She felt an entirely new sensation crawling up her spine, which felt like cold flames flickering along her skin and leaving tingles in their wake. For the time being, she ignored it.

 

Raven hair just looked shocked for a moment, but opened his mouth to speak with an expression that nearly mirrored her own in intensity. Before he could get a word out, however, the woman stuck out her hand. “I’m sorry,” she said. “We promise to tell you everything, but for right now you need to allow him to take your energy.”

 

“Excuse me?” Thea asked, emotions swinging wildly from anger to disbelief to panic.

 

“Stop stalling,” Sam said, his voice seeming to waver on the edge of breaking. Thea tried to evade his grasp, but he caught her wrist again before she could pull it away. He dragged her forward, glittering golden eyes now in full bloom and a mist-like cloud echoing the color seeping from them. “You  **will** let me kiss you.”

 

“Kh-kiss?!” she gasped, eyes wide. Her entire body quickly flushed with heat as she couldn’t tear her eyes away from his. This was terrifying… but her heart beating wildly at her ribs was not just from fear. It made no sense. She was pissed off at this guy. She didn’t necessarily  **want** him to drop dead, but she sure as hell was considering letting him. Nothing he’d done was worth her help. Despite all of that, a soft whisper left her lips, “...yeah…”

 

The consent given, Sam wrapped an arm about her shoulder, hand gripping at the back of her head as he all but slammed his lips to hers. The new sensation was immediate, the warmth she had felt welling up in her slipping along the nerves of her neck and face. He grunted, dissatisfied as she stood relatively still besides having to lean into him because her legs started to feel weak. The flood of warmth began to slow as she clung to him. A sharp nip at her bottom lip had her gasp and his dark chuckle reverberated through his chest and into hers as he forced her body closer. A resurgence of that warmth greeted his aggressive affections, but as she gripped her fingers into his shirt she started to feel faint. Something was wrong.

 

“Sam,” a male voice said, low in warning. Thea vaguely recognized it as the black haired man’s. Sam grunted again, this time in a question, but did not release his hold on her or relinquish his current conquest of her lips. “ **Enough** .”

 

The brunette groaned, though it sounded to Thea like a child whining in an adult voice, and slowly relinquished his grip. “ **Fine** …” he muttered, licking his lips as if whatever he’d taken from her was dripping off them.

 

The moment he removed his hands from her, Thea narrowed her eyes and used her grip to shove him away from her. It only infuriated her further that he wasn’t even phased by the push. “The  **fuck** was  **_that_ ** ?!” she snapped at him.

 

Her mouth opened to say more, but Sam cut her off. “A kiss,” he said, his voice as deadpan and unemotional as he’d been so far. Even his expression looked bored. “Stop overreacting. It’s stupid.” That ‘information’ imparted, he shimmied for a moment and proceeded to lift up his shirt to inspect himself. A quick brush of his hand over his lower torso and he grinned. There was a great deal of blood on his skin and the top of his jeans, but no wounds. Not even scratches or scars. “Well, that worked better than I thought it would,” he commented, his grin only getting wider as he noted her flushed face. She’d never seen that much of a ‘v’ at a man’s hips in her life. “You’re brimming with it, woman. Must’ve not had your cork popped in a while…”

 

“Ek-excuse me?!” Thea coughed. “Th-that’s none of your business!”

 

There was an amused chuckle from her right and she whirled around with irritation already on her tongue to find three more people nearby. They were all dressed as plainly as the other two men. Her blush hadn’t faded and her emotions were running wild, as were her thoughts and for a time they silenced her. The one that had apparently found her state amusing was a light-haired brunette whose locks caught the sun in a way that turned them red. That alone was shocking, but his purple eye was even more so.  _ Beautiful… like polished amethyst... _ While his other eye was completely obscured with his bangs, she had no doubt it was just as stunning. He was almost as tall as the black haired man she’d been dealing with, but not quite, and lithe like the models she’d silently idolized over the years.

 

Next to him, grinning rather like an idiot, was a male that appeared to either be an older boy or a very young man. He couldn’t have been more than a few inches taller than herself which she, being only 5’5”, was perfectly fine with. His black hair caught her attention, but because it appeared to be very fluffy.  _ I want to touch it _ , she couldn’t help but think to herself.  _ It looks like bunny fur… _

 

The moment after her thought manifested, the third male chuckled. Thea’s eyes immediately flicked over to him, about to ask him what  **he** was laughing at when his appearance struck her dumb for a few moments as well. His ginger locks were gorgeous and the eyes that peeked out from beside and beneath them were even more enticing than the shimmering brunette’s. They swirled with blue and purple like an artist's fabricated stone that was too beautiful even for nature to create. After a moment, she regained herself enough to speak. “What’s so funny?” she asked, attempting to snap, but her currently still flushed face and quickly beating heart made it sound more like a pout.

 

“He wouldn’t mind that,” the redhead replied, offering a tentative smile. He himself was blushing lightly, though she wasn’t sure what from.

 

“Who wouldn’t mind what?” Thea asked in return, brows furrowing in confusion and concern.  _ He couldn’t possibly be talking about _ — 

 

“You touching his hair,” he answered her, briefly glancing at Matthew. The younger looking male perked up at the glance and turned his attention to Thea expectantly.

 

At that, Thea panicked, her blush extending to her ears and her neck. She attempted to say something, mouth opening, but the words caught in her throat.  _ But I didn’t— _

 

“You don’t have to,” he interrupted her thoughts.

 

Thea leaned back, finally forcing her eyes to close and shake her head to try and reset. The idea that he could read her mind was too much. “Okay.  **No** ,” she stated, pointing firmly at the ginger. “That’s bullshit. You can’t—”

 

“Read minds?” he offered quietly, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. “Unfortunately, yes. Your thoughts are very loud. It’s… hard  **not** to hear them.”

 

The innkeeper groaned loudly, her body slumping a bit. After a moment, she raised her hands up high above her head in a universal sign of giving up. “Great. Fan- **fuckin’** - **_tastic_ ** !” she cried, her hands flopping to her sides shortly after. A moment’s consideration later, she turned to the only female in the group, pointing a finger accusingly. “ **You** brought them here,” she said. “Why?”

 

The redhead didn’t seem at all concerned by the gesture, absent-mindedly adjusting her vest and tucking some hair behind her ears. “Why don’t we go inside to talk?” she offered.

 

Thea glared at her for a few moments, brow furrowing and lips pursing as if she were trying to discern whether or not this was a good idea. “Fine,” she eventually relented and turned away from the group. “But I’m not serving tea and crumpets to you people,” she added, not even bothering to look behind her as she headed over to the main stairs and porch.


	3. Introductions & The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuing on where we left of. Pretty much all dialogue, but hopefully it’s interesting dialogue! ;3  
> It was also far longer than I was intending, but that tends to happen with me and dialogue. xDDD

Despite her words, Thea opened the door for them and stood there as they filed in. Once they were all inside, she gestured to the great room. “Down the hall a bit. There’s a lot of tables and chairs. Put some together and sit down,” she instructed. It was still  **her** home and she was damn well going to act like it. As they wandered away, presumably to do as instructed, she fiddled with the pockets of her well-worn jeans to find her keys. Once they jingled in her hand as confirmation, she locked the doors from the inside and turned towards the hall. She took a deep breath and let it out just as slowly.

 

As she began to move, she heard a quiet conversation echo down the hall, seeing the ginger and the tall black haired male talking.

 

“Is she still angry?”

 

“Yes, very much so,” the redhead answered, his gaze flickering over his companion’s arm to look at Thea. He knew she was watching and listening and decided not to hide the conversation. As the taller male’s back was to her, she couldn’t tell his expression, but he shifted slightly from foot to foot as if he were nervous.  “But she is also intently curious,” Ginger added, which seemed to soothe the taller male enough that he stilled.

 

“Good. We can use that,” was all the tall black haired male said and offered a nod. It was only after that he noticed that the other male’s gaze was not on him. He turned to look and his eyes widened slightly as he realized that Thea was watching them both and she looked even less pleased with them than when he’d passed her by the door. He bowed his head and moved to help the others put tables together.

 

“These things have latches!” the fluffy haired male chirped, leaning down and tilting his head to look under them.

 

“That’s because they fold out into circles as well,” Thea told him. It was part of her mother’s notes that she’d perused earlier that day and was yet another small detail that she’d admitted that her mother was smart to choose. It allowed for more people to be seated without overwhelming the space or removing the ability to put tables together.

 

“Really? That’s interesting! You’ll have to show us later!” He smiled broadly at her as he spoke, eyes wide with interest and excitement.

 

_ He’s like a child… but it’s cute. _ Thea couldn’t help but think. A tiny smile greeted his, as it seemed far too harsh to not smile back when someone showed you such unbridled happiness. Her moment of peace was shattered by a now very familiar voice.

 

“Get over here and help Zec—”

 

“Sam,” the tallest male warned.

 

“Yeah. Right. Stupid names,” Sam growled in response. “ **Matthew!** ” he barked after a moment.

 

Thea leaned up against the corner wall with no intention of helping them. She was going to give them a chance to explain themselves, a chance to get her help with whatever nonsense all this actually was… but she was going to make them work for it. The other woman also seemed to stand back and when she caught Thea looking at her, she offered a reassuring smile. The innkeeper quickly looked away, brows knitting for a moment as she schooled her expression. Why did she feel embarrassed about surveying them? They were strangers. In her house. In her literal and figurative  **business** . She had every right to watch them like a hawk and frankly she should. They were clearly dangerous; at the very least Sam was.

 

The moment that she recovered herself, the world saw fit that one of them would slip to the space beside her. His form was so close she could feel his body heat even though he was not in her vision. She had a larger personal space bubble than most, for reasons she never wanted to remember, but he was still close. _Too close_ , she thought in regards to his proximity. Her hand twitched and she thought about how close the door to the innkeeper’s living area was. Still, Thea remained relatively calm on the outside. She had an out if she needed it: the living room’s door knob locked from the inside. “Shouldn’t you be helping your friends?” she asked, not even turning her head. She would do her best to remain calm and indifferent, since they seemed to be interested in emotion.

 

Thea could not continue to ignore him as he trailed a finger down her arm and gently grasped her hand, her face quickly bursting into red. She was too shocked from the tingle the movement had sent up her spine to pull away, but was also unable to resist turning and looking. It was the model, his hair glittering red even in the far more harsh fluorescent light of the chandelier. She swallowed as he pulled up her hand, his breathtaking amethyst eye boring into hers as he placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “I was merely checking on you, Princess,” he offered, his voice velvet to her ears.

 

She had to grit her teeth to suppress a groan. Thea knew she had a weakness for certain voices, but it had never happened in real life. Characters, in movies and games, had triggered this but her heart was already beating wildly just from a single sentence. “Princess?” she managed to croak. After forcing herself to cough to clear her throat she chuckled. “I’ve never considered myself a lady, much less a  **princess** . Not sure where you got that nonsense from after my display earlier, either.”

 

He wasn’t phased, offering a small smile as he listened politely. Her gaze flickered to their hands as his thumb grazed over her skin and she swallowed thickly again. “You live in what some could consider a very lavish estate and you hold yourself with poise and grace. What more does one need to be considered a lady?” he asked, smile growing a little as he let that sink in. “The language you choose may not be a normal trait for a lady of class, but such things can be overlooked. You are a noble being, proud and beautiful. Why not place a title of Princess on such a woman?”

 

Thea opened her mouth to argue, but the words died on her tongue as she quickly realized that he wasn’t  **technically** wrong in anything he said. She would argue until she was blue in the face about the wonderful descriptions of her, but they were subjective and she had a feeling he knew that and had chosen them accordingly. Instead, her mouth shut and a blush spread again to her ears and neck.

 

He released her hand only to use it to trace her neck and along her jaw as he leaned forward to place his mouth mere inches from her ear. “And how  **becomingly** you blush!” he cooed, his breath painting over the edges of her ear. “You have no idea the things it begs me to do to you…”

 

She released a shuddering sigh, glad that she’d at least been able to keep from moaning. Still, she felt the now recognizable sensation of energy zipping along the nerves of her face and jaw. He was feeding. Thea glanced over as he moved back slightly and immediately noted the shift in color to gold. The mist was not present, as it had been with Sam, but as quickly as the sensation started her shocked gaze ended it. He stepped back further, apparently nervous now that she’d caught him. “I apologize, Princess,” he offered, gaze firmly on the floor as he bowed his head. “That was uncalled for, as you did not knowingly consent.”

 

“You were feeding—”

 

“Yes,” he said, the sudden hint of shame and pain in his voice making her feel terribly guilty. “You were so full and I was—”

 

Their conversation was interrupted as the tallest of them suddenly approached. “Erik,” he began sharply, the other male finally looking up from the ground and to his companion. “Did you ask and did she agree?”

 

“No,” Erik answered, his voice and expression very guilt-ridden. After a moment he even began to avoid the raven-haired man’s amber gaze. “And I apologized to her for the abuse.”

 

_ Abuse _ ? She echoed the word in her mind. _ That may not have been normal, but that was far from _ **_abuse_ ** _ … _ she said to herself. She wanted it again, honestly. He’d made her wish he hadn’t stopped. But it all came crashing down, just like everything else.

 

The other male sighed heavily and rubbed at his temple. “I’m sorry, Miss. It is not customary back home to ask before feeding, so long as it is already within wished intimacy, but we were told about this being highly unusual here. My brothers and I have much to learn and adjust to.”

 

“Just where  **are** you from?” Thea asked him, feeling a myriad of emotions coursing through her and it was only made worse by his intense amber eyes as she caught his gaze. She had to crane her neck a fair bit to even do so, but height was never an intimidating factor to her.

 

“It’s… difficult to explain,” he answered, nervously tucking a hand beneath his opposite arm as he struggled to continue their connected gaze. “Let’s go to the table. They should be done by now. We will answer anything you wish once Miss K explains the situation to you.”

 

Thea looked to Erik, but he would not return the gaze and kept his head bowed slightly. She already missed his attention, which made her both concerned and frustrated. What was  **wrong** with her?

 

They all took seats at the long table they’d made by putting together three of the square two-tops. The tallest gestured to the chair at the end of the table, pulling it out for her. “It is only fitting that you sit at the head of the table, Miss, as this is your home,” he explained.

 

“Thank you,” she replied, though her nerves were already fraying a bit with all their eyes now suddenly on her. She sat and immediately turned her gaze to the woman who was apparently just called “K”. “So, what’s this wonderful little group of misfits doing here and where did they come from?” Sarcasm and sass were her standard defense mechanisms, so it slipped easily off her lips. She even made a show of putting her elbows on the table and resting her head on her folded hands. Her gaze was wide and expectant as she was able to force back her nerves in favor of a strong facade.

 

“They are brothers,” K informed her.

 

Thea quirked her brow at that. The tallest had just said that, but she’d thought he meant that in a ‘brothers-in-arms’ or ‘companions’ sense. She was getting the ‘blood-related’ vibe from K.  “Brothers from another mother maybe—”

 

“Exactly so, in this case. They only share the same father. Though I know you were using a euphemism.”

 

The innkeeper glanced briefly around the table. The only two that looked even remotely similar were the tallest and Matthew. Her attention snapped back when K began speaking again.

 

“But that is not as important as the rest. They’re from the Abyssal Plains. I’ll just assume that your mother did not teach you anything about magic or the other worlds, since you earlier called magic ‘parlor tricks’.”

 

“She and I haven’t been on good terms since I was a teenager and we hadn’t talked in five years. So. Yeah. You’re right to assume that.”

 

K gave her a look of pity and Thea glared at her for it. “That is a shame. Harold spoke very highly of Julianna.”

 

“So does everyone that’s never lived with her,” Thea growled. “Move on from her.  **Please** ,” she nearly spat the last word.

 

The redhead sighed and rolled her shoulders. “The Abyssal Plains are where demons reside. Anything that is not a human, angel, devil or vampire lives there.”

 

“Wait— so all those things—”

 

“Exist, yes,” K interrupted her. “Please let me finish.”

 

Thea pursed her lips, but remained quiet.

 

“Thank you,” K said after the confirmation of silence was given. “These five are incubi. They didn’t want to live in the Abyssal Plains anymore so Harold Anderson, a powerful human warlock, brought them here. Unfortunately, even though he was very powerful and used methods that would conserve energy as much as he could, he had his limits. He expended too much energy getting them here and collapsed within an hour of bringing them through.”

 

Thea glanced around the table and found a lot of regret and sadness in the eyes of the brothers, even Sam’s.  _ He must have been a very kind man, to risk his life like that. To lay it down for someone else’s happiness… _ she thought.

 

“He was,” the ginger spoke up, voice quiet. “In a time where I needed help, he gave me hope. His stories about this world gave me real hope for the first time.”

 

_ For the first time? _ she thought, her own expression turing to concern and pity as she looked to him.  _ He’s just as gorgeous as his brothers…maybe even more so. What could have possibly happened to him? _

 

This time, he did not comment but his face flushed pink so she knew he’d read her mind again. A small smile flitted across her lips, glad that he felt pleased with her compliment even though it was simply the truth. It was sad, to hear that he’d suffered, but she could relate. Perhaps not to his situation, but to the suffering.

 

She swore she noted the briefest of nods from the ginger, but her attention was jerked back to K, who cleared her throat to regain the room. “Julianna Kilgore had been a pen pal of his. Kinda. They had met while seeking rare ingredients and bonded over magic. He trusted her, should this plan fail. He said that she had agreed to take them in if something went wrong. Teach them about the human world so they could live here without attracting attention from angels.”

 

Thea’s eyes narrowed. “Why would attention from angels be a  **bad** thing? Aren’t they supposed to bear good news and help people?”

 

“They are… protectors of humans. But not in the way you think. They keep a tight watch on those that travel between worlds—”

 

“So they already know about them.”

 

K sighed. “Harold had passed his Angel Trials. They did not interfere with his plans unless it was deemed a risk to the secrecy of magic. He had plans to allow them to travel, to keep a low profile… it was foolproof.”

 

“Aside from his underestimation of the power needed to  **get** them here,” Thea noted.

 

“Yes,” K bit back. “ **Aside** from  **_that_ ** .”

 

“So lemme recap, just to be sure I understand the situation here,” Thea said. “These guys are brothers.  **Incubi** brothers,” she gestured with a flourish to the males gathered about the table but didn’t actually remove her gaze from K. “Who need to be taught about the human world so they won’t go revealing to everybody that there actually is such a thing as magic and different worlds. And Mom was gonna teach them about the human world. But I don’t know  **how** she was gonna do that ‘cause we didn’t talk and  **you** don’t know either ‘cause it was only this Harold dude who talked to her about it. Now it’s up to me what to do about this because she’s gone.”

 

“Essentially. Yes.”

 

“And there’s no ‘Plan C’, I take it?”

 

“No.”

 

“So the poor, unfortunate souls would be on their own,” she felt like Ursula as she described the brothers with the villain's catchphrase. “What would happen if they fucked up?”

 

“I’m not certain,” K sighed. “But angels are not known for being forgiving of those that break the rules of the worlds. Particularly not if they are demons or devils, since this is not their world to reside in naturally and cambion— half bloods, before you ask— are forbidden.”

 

Thea still wasn’t certain about this. Just why did  **she** have to do this? It just seemed like a major hassle and it risked her being targeted by angels, apparently. They were something she didn’t believe in but were evidently quite real. She didn’t believe in incubi, either, but Sam and Erik’s demonstrations of their abilities were enough to make her change her mind. She glanced at the ginger brother and found him fidgeting nervously in his seat. When she noticed it, however, he stilled even without looking at her.  _ He’s still reading my mind _ … she thought, audibly sighing. After a moment, she flicked her gaze towards the tallest brother. “You,” she said, feeling weird about having to call someone like that but not yet knowing what to call him. She pointed to him, just reinforce it. “Mr. Amber Eyes. What’s your name?”

 

“James, Miss,” he replied. His response was short, almost clipped as if he were afraid to say more.

 

“I assume you’re the eldest of the brothers?”

 

“Yes, Miss.”

 

“My name is Thea,” she said. “You should use that instead of calling me Miss. Titles make me feel old.” All the brothers either stiffened or gasped softly and she looked around: all of them appeared either terribly nervous or simply shocked and she was very confused by it.

 

“We don’t often give our names,” the ginger said, clearing up some of her confusion.

 

“But  **he** just did and no one batted an eye,” Thea replied.

 

“Those are our new names. They hold no power over us,” the mind-reader expounded further.

 

That just made her even more confused and her face quickly showed it. “Power? Why would names hold power over someone?”

 

“You all do not have true names here?” Erik inquired, his visible brow quirked as he looked to her.

 

Even just his inquiring gaze made her flush slightly, those brilliant amethysts were too much. “We just have names. First, middle, last. It’s not a big deal. First names are what you call someone by when you know them. Middle names aren’t usually used unless they’re cooler than your first name and you want to be called that. Or if you’re in trouble. Last names are about what family you came from. I’m Thea Natalie Kilgore, for example. I have no idea what you’re talking about with this ‘true name’ nonsense...”

 

K piped up at that. “For demons, their true names allow someone close. It can be used to bind them, to call them to your side through magic, as long as they are in the same world. They are normally only shared between mates and direct family members.”

 

“So who gave you these fake names?”

 

“ **New** names,” the ginger corrected her gently. “Mr. Anderson did. He did a good job picking them. I quite like mine and the—”

 

“Which is?” Thea interrupted him. She’d wondered about him for some time, but kept neglecting to ask, much like she had is eldest brother.

 

“Oh,” he spoke up after a moment, apparently surprised that she cared to ask. “It-it’s Damien.”

 

That shut Thea up for a moment. She blinked rapidly, eyes wide, as she desperately tried to dispel the pink tinge that appeared on her cheeks.  _ Why is he so damn adorable?! _ she lamented in her head. Normally it was just funny when people stuttered— she was sure others laughed at her, too, when she did it— but Damien’s little display made her thankful she was already sitting down.

 

It was made plain he was still listening to her mind as he began fidgeting again.

 

K chuckled from her right and Thea immediately snapped her head back, relieved to be given a reprieve from the moment. “So, have you decided?”

 

Thea wasn’t at all prepared to answer that. She opened her mouth as if she had something, but slowly shut it. She glanced around the table, eyes resting on each brother. Their gazes back to her ranged from pleading to enticing. Her eyes wandered back to James, resting on him. “If I ask you a question, you’d better give me a full answer,” she said, her voice steady and firm again. “None of this ‘it’s complicated’ half truth bullshit. You understand?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Does that mean we’re staying?” Matthew piped up, all but wriggling in his seat and looking far too excited for Thea’s state.

 

She held up a hand, one finger up, towards Matthew. “Not just yet,” she said, though her gaze was still stuck on James. He was the eldest. As long as she had  **his** agreement, he could convince the others if necessary. “If I so much as  **whisper** the word ‘stop’, any feeding, touching or flirting is to cease. Period.”

 

“That is perfectly reasonable, Miss.”

 

“Thea.”

 

James didn’t answer, but was clearly ready to move on to anything else she had to demand.

 

Thea pursed her lips, but relented and moved on. “Anything you break, you will either fix it yourselves properly or find a way to pay for it being fixed.”

 

“Also entirely agreeable and should be expected.”

 

“As you said before, this is my house,” Thea said, her words slow and deliberate. The rest of her statement slowing even further. “It’s also my  **business** . You’ll work here. As long as you work, you stay.” The entire table relaxed at her last two words, a few of the boys releasing breaths that they probably didn’t even know they were holding.

 

“I would not have things any other way.”

 

“Oh boy!” Matthew cried, hopping up from his chair. “I promise this’ll be fun. Thea, you’re wonderful!”   
  


Thea wasn’t expecting that much enthusiasm and her blush returned. “Don’t get so excited. The work won’t be easy.”

 

“Don’t care,” Matthew chirped, slipping over to her and wrapping his arms about her neck and giving a squeeze as he laid his head on top of hers. He nuzzled his cheek into it as he spoke, closing his eyes with a pleased smile pulling at the edges of his lips. “You’re amazing. Thank you for opening your home to us. You’ve got no idea how worried we all were on the way here!”

 

The innkeeper’s eyes moved up to look as high as she could, but she was stuck, stiffened by the overly friendly contact that she really wasn’t used to and especially not from strangers.

 

“Matthew, stop it,” James snapped, adjusting his shirt as he stood. “You are just stressing her out.”

 

“Oh,” the younger brother said, “oops.” He released her immediately, looking sheepish for only a moment before looking around and then running off upstairs. “This place is so  **biiiigggg** it’s like the castle!”

 

“Hey! Get back here, shrimp!” Sam went bolting off after him and Thea was glad to see that she could actually see him run this time. The instant teleport thing he did was extremely concerning.

 

As what Matthew actually said settled in her brain, her eyes widened. “Castle?!” Thea echoed in a gasp. “You guys lived in a  **castle** ?”

 

James sighed. “Yes, Miss. We did.”

 

“Why did you come here? You lived in a castle, in a world with magic everywhere and a bunch of cool creatures—”

 

“We have our reasons.”

 

Thea’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t we just agree about you giving bullshit answers not being a thing you could do?”

 

“It is hard to talk about,” he replied slowly. “Just… know that we had our reasons. We will tell them to you, one day.”

 

She wanted to push, but something told her it wasn’t worth it so she let it go.

 

“Well, since they’re going to be in your care now,” K started, hauling something up from beneath the table. The shiny metal briefcase that she plopped down on the table wasn’t something she’d even seen on any of their persons when they came in. “Harold had some cash on hand meant for them, so it’s best that I hand that off to you. It will easily pay for the gate to be replaced, at the very least.”

 

K flicked open the latches and Thea’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she saw the stacks of money inside. $100’s. In tightly wrapped stacks. “Holy… shit…” she heard herself say, but almost as if she were a world away. She felt like her skin was paling. K grasped her arm tightly and that brought her back to the present. “Th-there has to be like… one hundred thousand dollars in there…” she breathed.

 

“Actually, two hundred fifty thousand,” K corrected. “As I said, more than enough to get that gate fixed.”

 

“That could build this place over again, I think…” Thea muttered. “Who the hell  **was** this Harold Anderson guy?”

 

“He was the CEO of Anderson Toys,” K answered. 

 

Thea knew that name, that brand. Her mother had gotten her several when she was a child. They had been some of her favorites. “Well, that explains how he could just have several hundred thousand dollars laying around like chump change…”

 

“They have their identity papers and ID’s,” K said, clearly ignoring Thea’s jealous mutterings. “You’ll need to get them updated at the local DMV now that they’ll be living here, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

 

“Right…” she said, offering a nod. It was still insane that these men had just materialized into her life. At least they also all but materialized into the human world in general.

 

“Take care of them and they’ll return the favor,” K informed her with a wink and a sly smile. “Welp! I’m going home. Gotta get that van fixed up on the way somewhere, but that’s my problem now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that a lot of this info is well-known by those in the fandom, but I have a beta reader who is not in the fandom in order to make this story more accessible to people outside of this fandom. Most of this info was pulled directly from Michaela Law's SM asks on Tumblr, but some of it was filled in with what I think makes logical sense.


	4. First Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one ended up being much longer than I expected. It’s mostly dialogue (honestly, that will be the focus of this fic for a while, since they’re all learning about stuff and each other). Since Harold couldn’t have told them too much about the intricacies of the world, they’re going to need to be taught a lot and James’ learning ability will be put to good use.

Thea watched K leave, a figurative crushing weight suddenly making itself known to her mind. She was in charge of these guys now. Incubi. An entire world of magic that she never knew existed… suddenly exists. It was overwhelming, but she forced herself to refocus before she started to get too deep down that figurative rabbit hole. Her attention went again to James. “Do you all eat?” she asked. “Regular food, I mean. Not… taking energy.”

 

“We can, but it isn’t necessary,” he answered. “Are you hungry?”

 

“I’ll be starving soon, I’m sure,” Thea replied, chuckling. “Crystal and I skipped lunch when we were touring the place earlier. Didn’t even think of it.” Even as she spoke and stood, her guts growled loudly. She glanced down and pushed at her well-insulated abdomen with a grimace.  _ Well, that wasn’t necessary, stomach _ … she thought to herself.

 

A quiet chuckle drew her attention back up. Judging by the tiny smile at his lips, Damien had been the one to laugh. Thea relaxed and smiled at him, to which he did his best to broaden his own. Sharing his gaze even for a short time brought heat to her cheeks and she turned away. “I’m going to go make some food, then. I don’t know if we have enough here right now for you all. I went out to the store before Crystal got here earlier… but it was only to get enough stuff for me.”

 

“I can help, Miss,” James offered, following a few respectful steps behind as she made her way into the kitchen.

 

“Don’t know how much help I’ll need, but you’re welcome to watch. It’ll be easier if I teach one of you so you can help teach the others,” Thea reasoned. She offered him a small smile and he seemed taken aback by it for a moment before his expression softened and he offered one in return.

 

“I can assist as well,” Erik offered, though he hadn’t yet stepped inside the kitchen as James had. He leaned lazily against the doorframe.

 

Thea glanced at him, tilting her head after a moment.  _ He looks like a cat, leaning at the door like that… _

 

“Is something wrong, Princess?”

 

The innkeeper blinked, the blatant observation of his form stopping immediately. “No,” she answered. “I appreciate your offer. I was just thinking that you looked like a cat.” She moved over to the pantry to start looking through what was there. “If only you were as fluffy as one, too...” The last part she muttered to herself, but it was caught.

 

“You have a weakness for rich tactiles, mhmm?... I shall have to keep that in mind~” Erik mused.

 

Thea’s face dipped to red within seconds. She suddenly realized that the pantry was far too close to Erik so she quickly switched to looking through the fridge. 

 

“Erik,” James sighed. “Stop teasing her like that. We are already putting enough of a burden on her as it is.”

 

She was grateful for his interference, but a small part of her honestly didn’t mind. The teasing and flirting made her feel wanted. It was something she hadn’t felt in a long time… or, at least, hadn’t felt  **comfortable** feeling.

 

“Why?” Damien’s voice echoed through the kitchen. He had apparently made himself comfortable on the sil of the pass-through, sitting on it and letting his legs dangle over into the sink.

 

Thea was fairly certain he was asking about her thoughts. “You’ve got shit you don’t want brought up.  **That** is  **my** shit,” she said firmly. “Don’t make me talk about him and I won’t bother you gentlemen about the past you’re running from, either.” She immediately regretted letting the second part slip past her lips, her whole body stiffening for a moment before she quickly turned back to the fridge.

 

“Him?” This time it was an echo of both James and Damien at the same moment, brows quirked in interest and concern. 

 

She only turned back enough to glare at them. “Yes. We’ll just agree to not prod into each other’s pasts, shall we?”

 

Erik shrugged. “We have no need to ask of your previous consorts, Princess,” he said simply. “I’m certain there have been many, as no one could deny a beauty such as yourself.”

 

His compliments fell flat for the first time since he’d arrived, Thea far more wrapped up in her own feelings regarding her ex-boyfriend. “He wasn’t just…” she started, her words trailing off as she tightened her jaw. “It’s complicated.”

 

“We understand,” James assured her, a hand actually starting to raise as if to reach out and comfort her but he decided better of it. “Believe me. We understand difficult situations more than you could ever know.”

 

She was glad that he didn’t throw back some sass about her having demanded that they not give her ‘bullshit’ answers like what she’d just said. Despite that, she didn’t comment, instead pulling out a package of sausage and setting it on the island counter behind her. A quick glance around the relatively bare pull out freezer beneath and she removed a couple meat patties. As she put them down on the counter, she used her foot to shut the freezer and knee to close the fridge.

 

“Are your hands sore, Princess?”

 

“No,” she replied, still having a hard time just acknowledging his voice instead of having an electric shiver run up her spine. “It was just easier to use my foot and knee. Less turning.”

 

Damien was silent, the realization of which made Thea look up. He was watching her with a far more intense gaze than she could recall seeing from him previously.  _ Trying to read more information, no doubt _ … she thought, her inner voice rather sharp and bitter. The moment it came across, his gaze softened and he looked away, an expression of what looked to Thea like guilt crossing his face.  _ Leave. It.  _ **_Alone_ ** _. _ She instructed him and she swore she saw a barely perceptible nod from him.

 

That settled, she wandered over to pantry again. Thea was getting used to the idea of Erik watching her, of them all watching her. She spotted what she needed on a shelf she couldn’t reach and sighed.  _ Damnit, Mom, why’d you have to make shelves so tall that only you could reach ‘em?! _ she groused in her head. She turned and began looking for a stepstool.

 

“You needed this, right, Miss?” James asked, apparently having come close and grasped the bag of assorted rolls and breads before she had even moved a step away.

 

“Yeah,” she breathed in reply. “Thanks…” Their fingers brushed as she took the bag from him and she hurried back over to the island. “There are plates on your side of the island. Take out six,” she instructed.

 

“Island?” he asked.

 

She gestured to the counter she had all her ingredients on. “That’s called an island because it’s cabinetry that’s not attached to a wall.”

 

James nodded, opening up the far cabinet that was closest to him and easily finding the plates. He counted them out with his fingers and brought them out and onto the counter. “Where are the utensils?”

 

“We won’t need them for this,” Thea said. “It’s finger food.”

 

“...you put them on your fingers? They… look a little big for that…” Damien chimed in.

 

Thea barked out a laugh and all the boys looked a bit startled. “No, you precious cinnamon roll, that’s an idiom, a turn of phrase. It means that you eat it with your hands. No utensils required.”

 

“Oh,” was all he said, looking a bit embarrassed and sheepish about having asked.

 

“Where is the fire to cook these on?” James asked.

 

Thea quirked a brow. That was quite a old-timey question. Hardly anyone used a fire, since they were dangerous indoors, and those that did were out on a grill. How  **did** they cook? “Just what kinds of things did you eat back home that required a fire?”

 

“Stews and pies were common,” he answered. “How do you all cook?”

 

The innkeeper gestured to the oven. “That’s an oven for us. I’m sure yours would have been made of brick. Our appliances are made of metal,” she explained. She grasped the sausages and patties and brought them over to the stovetop. “And this on top is where we’ll heat things up.”

 

“How does it warm things without a fire or magic?” Erik asked, still standing in the doorway. He seemed hesitant about all this, but curious.

 

“Electricity,” Thea answered easily. “Here, let me show you.” She turned and got on her tiptoes to ease a pan out from its holder above the island. Turning back, she heard Damien jump off the pass through and assumed he was coming in for a closer look. She put the pan on the flat cooktop, right over one of the designated rings, and reached over it to turn the knob. The appliance clicked and a light whirring sound began. “I haven’t actually used this particular one yet,” she admitted. “It’s supposed to be super efficient and fast.”

 

“What is that sound?” James asked, actually leaning his head to the side a bit as if he needed to hear it specifically in his right ear to process it.

 

“The electronics working, I assume. That click you heard as I turned the knob was it starting up,” she answered.

 

“How does it work?”

 

Thea opened her mouth, but quickly shut it. She hesitantly began to explain with what little she understood. “I… don’t really know enough to explain well, honestly. Basically, there is an electric current running through the house via wires and anything electric runs off that. In the case of a stove, electricity is funnelled into a small space and the energy causes friction which causes heat. Hence heat, but no fire. It’s a really basic and probably not entirely accurate explanation.”

 

“It makes sense,” James assured her.

 

“It’s fascinating…!” Damien murmured, his eyes glittering with amazement and interest as he leaned over her shoulder.

 

The ginger was so close and she hadn’t noticed until he spoke that she jumped and inhaled sharply at his words. Her hand planted itself over her heart, her fingers moving after a moment to grip and rub at her necklace in an attempt to calm herself.  _ This isn’t Keith. He’s not trying to scare you. Or hurt you. Calm down... _

 

“Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you…” he apologized quietly and stepped back.

 

“Just… don’t sneak up behind me like that,” she said, her hand slowly releasing its worried grip on her necklace. “Or when I’m clearly focused on something else. I need to know you’re there long before you reach me.”

 

“That is good for  **all** of us to note,” James interjected gently.

 

Thea didn’t even have to look up to know he was looking pointedly at Erik, since she heard a quiet chuckle to her left. “I’ll get better about it. Eventually,” she said.

 

“We are in no hurry, Miss. You shouldn’t try and push yourself.”

 

The innkeeper looked at James, eyes evaluating him for a moment. “Why will you not say my name?”

 

He blinked, clearly a bit surprised by the question. “It… simply isn’t how we do things.”

 

“Matthew didn’t have a problem with adopting it immediately,” Thea noted.

 

“Matthew has always been… unorthodox in how he deals with people,” Erik noted. “Do you mind that I call you ‘princess’?”

 

She looked to him then, quirking a brow and studying his lips so she wouldn’t be as bothered by his intense gaze. The alternative gaze placement didn’t help much, either, as it prompted flashes of him kissing her in various places in her ever-active imagination. “I don’t know,” she admitted after a moment. She drew her attention to the drawers in front of her, fishing around for a moment to find a pair of scissors. She needed to refocus. Again. They were all so capable of distracting her. “It’s weird, though. I like my name and I don’t feel like a ‘princess’  **or** a ‘miss’.”

 

“I would be happy to rectify that—” Erik began, but was abruptly silenced. Thea didn’t even have to look up to know that James had again come to her rescue with yet another sharp look to his brother.

 

“Thank you, James,” she murmured, finally finding the scissors that she was looking for, as well as a spatula and quickly picking out a pair of tongs. 

 

“Anytime, Miss,” he replied easily. “What are these?”

 

“Scissors to cut the packaging open, spatula to flip the burgers and a pair of tongs to move and serve the sausages,” Thea answered, moving to start the process of opening the sausages. There was a pull tab, but she always found it easier to get them out by cutting it rather than pulling no matter what the packaging ‘suggested’. She plopped the patties onto the pan and they immediately began to sizzle. Water also gathered around them as they defrosted.

 

“Why does that meat have water in it?” Damien asked.

 

“It was frozen,” she answered, looking over and was both relieved and guilty about the fact that he had taken up a space away from her and beside James. It was as if she’d made him afraid to be close.

 

He hesitated, apparently having read her thoughts about his new position, but decided to keep it to himself. “Why?”

 

“To keep it fresh for longer. It’s the same reason for the fridge, but for different foodstuffs.”

 

“And the fridge was what you pulled these sausages from,” James noted.

 

“Correct,” she replied, offering him a small smile. “You’re perceptive. I’ll enjoy teaching you, I think.”

 

Something about that made the eldest fidget again, like he had in the hallway when he was worried about if she was going to let them stay.

 

Damien’s eyes widened, staring at James for a moment before catching Thea’s gaze. “You’ve made him nervous—”

 

“That’s a feat unto itself,” Erik mused. “We should expect nothing less from you, Princess.”

 

“That was completely unnecessary, you two!” James snapped, apparently back to his usual self. There wasn’t even a hint of blush and she wouldn’t have known for sure he was nervous if Damien hadn’t said anything.

 

Thea giggled and shook her head. It seemed to dispel the tension and bring their attention back to her. “It’s so interesting watching you all,” she said. “I never had siblings, so it’s fun to see how you interact as brothers.”

 

The grease starting to gather around the patties popped and Thea jerked back. “H-here!” she said, grasping and handing the spatula to James. “You need to flip them.” Before he could question how, she leaned around him to grasp his hand and guided him to slip the thin face beneath one of the pieces of meat and then quickly turned his wrist to flip it. “Like that.” She removed herself immediately, refocusing on the sausages. “Normally we’d use separate pans, but I’m lazy and don’t want to do a lot of dishes.”

 

“We can certainly take care of that, Miss,” James assured her, having clearly gotten the handle on how to flip things because his reproduction of their joined movement previously with the other patty was perfect. “You’ll just have to show us how. I’m sure if cooking is this different, cleaning is even more complex.”

 

Thea looked up at him with an expression of admiration and a smile at her lips. “You continue to impress me,” she murmured. He shifted again and her smile broadened into a grin: she knew a tell of his now. She continued, if only to save him further embarrassment. “You’re right, in a way,” she said, picking up the sausages with the help of the tongs and dropping them in the pan with the patties. “But I’ll show you, so don’t worry much. Teaching you guys is what I’m here for, apparently.”

 

“What’s cookin’?” Matthew’s chipper voice echoed from the behind them.

 

Thea turned to offer a smile and explain, instead finding Sam right behind her. She gasped and jerked back to the counter, the edge burying into the middle of her back. A hiss escaped her, as a grimace appeared on her lips.

 

“Are you okay, Miss?” James asked, releasing his hold on the spatula to try and touch her.

 

Damien and Erik also moved to help, but Thea waved her hands. “No, no. I’m fine. Don’t…” She took in a deep breath and let it out as a shuddering sigh. “Sam, please don’t do that,” she said. “I get really cagey about people just appearing behind me. You’re lucky I didn’t punch you.”

 

Sam looked thoroughly unimpressed and crossed his arms with a  _ tsk _ . “As if a human could even land a punch on me.”

 

“Sam!” James snapped. “Apologize, at the very least, for scaring her.”

 

“Back off!” Sam retorted sharply.

 

Thea rolled her eyes and used the opportunity to shove Sam back into the island’s edge in retaliation. She moved around him to look at Matthew. The younger male snickered as Sam grunted at his impact and growled at Thea. She entirely ignored him. “We’re cooking some meats,” the innkeeper said to Matthew. “I found some. It should be enough for everyone to have one.”

 

“Good!” Matthew declared cheerily. “I’m sure it’ll be tasty and that’s all that matters.”

 

The innkeeper instructed the brothers on cutting the longer buns to fit the sausages in and what to pull out of the fridge to garnish the meat with. Thea wasn’t at all surprised at Matthew’s taste for sweet things, but noted it. Damien’s taste for spicy things surprised her, but she happily filed it away for later. The rest of them didn’t seem to have much of a preference, but mimicked her in putting ketchup on theirs. Sam poured so much on that Thea couldn’t help but tease him. “Want a burger with that ketchup, Sam?”

 

He glared at her for a moment before gruffly replying, “get off me about my choices, woman.”

 

Thea only rolled her eyes at the answer to her playful comment. He didn’t feel anywhere near as threatening as he was when they first met. She wasn’t sure if it was his brothers’ influence or if he was actually more comfortable. Either way, it was easier. Even if they didn’t get along, she’d do her best to be relatively civil.

 

“Hey, Thea?” Matthew asked, walking up to her carrying his plate with a well-garnished sausage. He was just walking at her side as they left the kitchen

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why are the guest rooms all dark?” he asked.

 

Thea knitted her brows, confused. “What do you mean?”

 

“Well, the kitchen, dining hall and sitting room are all lit, but you don’t have any illumination spells in the guest rooms,” Matthew noted. “Did your mom just want the rooms to be for when they slept?”

 

She couldn’t help but feel and look confused.  _ The fuck is he talking about with an ‘illumination spell’? _ Thea asked herself. Still, she answered him as best she could. “...no. They just don’t have their lights on. Probably to save on the energy bill.”

 

“On? You mean you’d spend energy to dispel and then put back up the spell every time you went in and out of the room? That… seems really wasteful.”

 

Again, she was at a loss for a few moments. “No… there’s no spell, Matthew,” she tried to explain. “It’s…” she paused, trying to figure out how best to explain it, but coming up empty. It was rare that words failed her, but explaining basic tenets of the modern world seemed to do it. “I’ll show you later. Okay? Best to explain to everyone, since none of you would know if you all use spells to illuminate back home…”

 

Matthew looked disappointed, but didn’t actually fuss about it. “Okay. You’d better, though. We’ll want to have light in our rooms.”

 

Thea chuckled. “Don’t worry, you will.”

 

There was a swarm of never ending questions that came up in her mind as they all wandered back to the table that they’d shared earlier. This time, as they were all eating, she listened in to the brothers with a small smile. James and Erik tended to keep the others in line. Sam was the most unruly but he didn’t seem to be the youngest. Matthew  **looked** like the youngest, but with these guys she doubted she could trust her eyes for something like that. When she brought her attention to Damien, she realized that he was watching her just as intently as she had been observing his brothers. “You have so many questions…” he said. His voice was quiet but it seemed to draw his brothers’ attention away from their dinnertime squabbles.

 

Thea chuckled, leaning back in her chair and rubbing at the back of her neck. “Yeah, well, there’s a lot of things one should know about people now living under the same roof,” she attempted to excuse herself.

 

“Being curious is nothing to be ashamed of, Miss,” James assured her. “What do you want to know?”

 

She sighed, brows knitting for a moment as she tried to organize her thoughts. “We’ll need to sort out how to deal with your… hunger,” she started off with the most awkward question to get this out of the way. “You don’t require a kiss to feed,” she added after a moment. “Erik showed me that much.”

 

The brothers all looked at Erik, who held up his arms in mock surrender and offered a sheepish smile. “She was so full and want—”

 

“Doesn’t excuse it, Erik,” James interrupted him, his voice clearly chastising his brother. “You should have been clear what you were doing and asked.”

 

The coppery brunette incubus bowed his head in acquiescence and a tiny hint of shame.

 

Thea cleared her throat. “ **Anyway** ,” she began again. “How often do you all need to feed?”

 

“It depends on how much energy we use,” James attempted to explain. “As long as we do not expend extra energy by using our powers, we should be fine with just meals like you eat for a week or so.”

 

“Bullshit!” Sam interjected, smacking a hand on the table. Thea quirked a brow at the fact that he had already picked up her cursing slang. “Every other day. We’ll be dealing with headaches and stuff otherwise.”

 

While James did glare at his brother, he couldn’t argue with his reasoning.

 

“So… every other day, then?” Thea prodded James.

 

“Yes, that… would be best,” he reluctantly admitted. “But!” he added quickly, “we will never force you to give us energy—”

 

“Unless you’re dying,” Thea reminded him.

 

James turned his head to glare at Sam yet again, before sighing and returning his attention to Thea. “Yes, Miss. Unless it is an emergency. But those are very rare.”

 

She hummed to herself, pursing her lips a bit as she gazed at the table blankly. Eventually, she lifted her eyes again and swept it across the brothers. “We’ll need to split you up, then. Sam takes far more than anyone else, I’ll bet, so I think it would be best to put him with Matthew. So… one day will be James, Erik and Damien. The other will be for Sam and Matthew. That way, everyone will be fed and I won’t pass the fuck out every day. Does that sound agreeable?”

 

The boys murmured amongst themselves for a few moments, so low that even she wasn’t able to make out exactly what they were saying. James came away with an answer. “It does. However, you’ve already changed up that order,” he noted. “Will you be offering the rest of us your energy tonight and start fresh tomorrow with this new schedule?”

 

Thea immediately felt wary about the first idea. “That depends… how much do the rest of you need? I have no idea how deep my reserves are at this point. I just learned that this was a thing an hour ago or so, after all.”

 

James glanced at Matthew and Damien, who both nodded in their own time. “It should be fine, Miss,” he assured Thea as he turned his gaze back onto her. “We’re not in much need, but would be grateful for your assistance this evening.”

 

“And I am used to waiting,” Damien offered. “If you feel too tired or weak after feeding my brothers, I can wait until my day comes.”

 

His brothers looked to him with pity in their eyes and he seemed to ignore them all, as if he were used to the look.

 

She kept his gaze steadily since the first time he’d come here. “Are you hungry?” she asked him simply.

 

Damien’s gaze flickered. The gold with his brilliant red hair was breathtaking. “Yes,” he answered quietly, though his voice spoke of pain and shame.

 

“Then you’ll feed,” she said. “If you’re really that concerned about me, you can wait until I’m going to bed. Considering you’ve been reading my mind all day, you’ve been using a power all that time and have been expending more energy than your brothers. You need it even more than they do.”

 

James didn’t say anything, but she caught his expression shift to surprise and slip into what she translated as awe. He was impressed and it made a light blush paint her cheeks.

 

“Alright,” Damien replied after a few moments, nodding. “But you need to tell me to stop if you feel faint,” he added, his voice insistent.

 

Thea chuckled. His concern was touching. “I’ll do my best to say ‘stop’  **before** fading off into blackness, sure.”

 

At the sass, Damien smiled slightly and shook his head.

 

“Any other questions of import you’d like to ask?” James inquired. 

 

“I would ask about birth order out of simple curiosity, but I think I’ve figured it out,” Thea answered.

 

“Really?” he mused. “Would you like to tell us and we’ll correct you if you’re wrong?”

 

“Sure,” she said, nodding. “You’re eldest, you already said so,” she began, gesturing to him. “Erik is next in line,” the copper haired man nodded and offered his by now characteristically seductive smirk. “Sam is next because he’s clearly a troubled middle child—”

 

“Hey!” Sam snapped. “I’m not ‘troubled’. I just do things my own—”

 

“You know she’s right, Sam~” Matthew teased his brother.

 

“No one asked you, pipsqueak!”

 

Yet again, Thea just rolled her eyes and sighed at the little spat. “Matthew’s next. He looks like the youngest but I get the feeling he’s not.” Everyone except Sam nodded, looking impressed. Apparently most people got that wrong. “So that leaves Damien as the youngest.”

 

“No need for corrections, Princess,” Erik spoke up. “You are right. Again, your perception does you credit.”

 

Thea smiled at him, only able to keep his gaze for a few seconds before her face flushed again and she looked away. “I’m not sure where you all will sleep,” she began.

 

“Technically, as long as we are not injured, there’s little need for demons to sleep,” James informed her.

 

The innkeeper quirked a brow. “Well, even so…  **I** need to sleep. So you all will either need to follow suit or go over to the side buildings while I rest. I need at least 6 hours to function in the mornings.”

 

“Man, humans really are weak…” Sam muttered.

 

“Hush, Sam,” Erik chided before James could, the copper haired incubus’s tone was sharp and his expression displeased with his brother at he looked at him.

 

Sam grumbled something else but Thea couldn’t hear it and none of the other brothers took interest.

 

“There are those three rooms near the front,” Matthew suggested. “There’s enough beds there and they’re smaller rooms so you wouldn’t be giving us the best. That should be for your guests. Right?”

 

“Right,” Thea agreed. “Thank you for being considerate of that, Matthew.”

 

“Of course!” he replied cheerily. “We won’t mind sharing rooms, right?” He looked around at his brothers.

 

“I’m takin’ the middle one,” Sam said.

 

“As if anyone would want to room with you, Sam,” Erik sighed. Sam growled at him, which only further cemented Erik’s point. “James, would you mind? I agree with Matthew that we shouldn’t take up any of the larger rooms.”

 

“That is fine with me,” the eldest agreed with a nod. “We’ll stay together, then. It’ll be easier to keep an eye on you all if we’re staying close.”

 

“Then you’ll stay with me,” Matthew said, wrapping an arm around Damien and giving him a quick side-hug. “It’ll be fun!”

 

“S-sure…” Damien replied. 

 

Thea smiled at the interaction, calm from her previous nervousness.  _ That’s so cute... _ she mused in her head, temporarily forgetting that he could read her mind and probably still was. Her thoughts ran away with her.  _ He deserves that love. Sweet cinnamon roll… _

 

Damien’s eyes widened and a light blush painted his cheeks. When Thea noticed it, she blushed as well.  _ I forgot— _ she started.

 

“It’s okay!” he assured her. “Thank you. For what you thought.”

 

“S-sure....”

 

Everyone but Sam looked confused, but decided to leave it without comment.

 

Sam, meanwhile, looked like he was about to go to sleep. “Well,” he spoke up, eyes opening again. “Thanks for dinner, I guess. It was good,” he said. “For human food,” he added quickly. 

 

“You’re welcome,” Thea replied, nodding. “I’ll have to go to the store tomorrow and fill that kitchen to actually feed you all properly.”

 

“May we accompany you?” James asked, his voice more uncertain than she’d heard from him before.

 

Thea’s expression slipped into concern as she looked at him.  _ What’s making you worried?  _ she asked herself, even though she would get no answer from James by doing so. “If you’d like. It’s really not that exciting, honestly…”

 

“Anything is exciting with you, Princess,” Erik quipped.

 

The innkeeper decided to test him a bit further, knowing the kinds of suave lines he’d be likely to pull. “And any view is—”

 

“Breathtaking.”

 

_ And there it is.  _ Thea rolled her eyes, but her blush spread to her ears and neck even as she tried to deny it. “You are  **disgustingly** complimentary…” she sighed.

 

“You wound me! I merely speak the truth,” he returned, a sly grin at his lips.

 

“Uh-huh…  **sure** ly…”

 

“I could convince you, I am certain—”

 

“Erik,” James warned. “Enough.”

 

“We were merely playing,” Erik defended himself. “Right, Princess? You weren’t offended, or wanted it to stop…” he let the last bit hang in the air.

 

“I’d be okay with it stopping,” Thea admitted, eyes trained on the table. “At least for now…” the second bit was muttered under her breath, but as always Erik caught it.

 

“Another time, then,” he assured her, offering a wink.


	5. First Real Feedings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More interaction, more revealed about both boys and Thea! ;3

As she stood and began to gather her plate, James was suddenly at her side. “Let my brothers and I handle this, Miss,” he instructed quietly, his voice far too intense for what he was saying. “I’m sure you have plenty of other things to tend to and we are supposed to be working for you.”

 

 _Shit_ , her thoughts cursed as her face flushed lightly. _His voice is just as bad as Erik’s sometimes…_ _How the hell would Mom have intended to deal with all this?!_ She huffed in her head. Swallowing to refocus, she nodded. “Sure. Thanks…” she managed offering a small smile before excusing herself.

 

Thea wandered away from the brothers, chuckling as she heard Sam bitching about having to clean up. For the time being she headed into the office, realizing that they’d come get her to help explain how the sink and water worked when they’d gotten the plates into the kitchen. She flopped down into the plush swivel chair, turning around to get her messenger bag and grab her mini laptop. It had been with her for a good four years and she’d been glad to have it when she couldn’t get herself out of bed in the face of depressive episodes. The screen flickered to life and she sat back and waited for the boot up sequence to complete, her arms crossing lazily behind her head.

 

She had barely closed her eyes when she heard the small beeps of the start up and confirmation. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes because she felt like something was off and looked around to find Matthew was peeking his head around the doorframe. “Hey!” he chirped, finally stepping into the room once she noticed him. “James told me that you don’t like people sneaking up on you so I waited until you noticed me…” his words trailed off as his gaze flickered over to the computer and he tilted his head. “What’s that?”

 

“A laptop,” Thea answered easily. She watched his eyes glitter with excitement and smiled.  _ He really was like a kid, _ she thought,  _ but so are the others, in a way _ . There were so many things to show them, since apparently their world didn’t have most of what made this world ‘modern’.

 

“What does it to? Is it a light source?”

 

“What  **doesn’t** it do is an easier question to answer, actually,” Thea answered with a lilting laugh.

 

Matthew blushed, offering an embarrassed chuckle. “I-James actually sent me to get you because we’re not exactly sure how to get water. You don’t have a well,” he said.

 

“I figured,” she mused, sighing as she stood from her chair. “I was expecting the inquiry, even though I let him take care of clearing off the table.”

 

Before she could get to the door, though, Matthew grasped her hand. “A-and… uhm…” he started, his grip firm enough that it made her stop. “I don’t need much, but…”

 

Thea smiled, now understanding what he was asking of her. “I understand,” she assured him. “It’s okay. I’m fine with you—”

 

Before she could finish, Matthew’s eyes shimmered gold with the edges seeping mist and she gasped as he backed her up against the door. The heat and rapid heartbeat that had stirred in her with Sam returned and she was both confused and even slightly scared by the suddenness of it. Keith had backed her into walls and corners often, but Matthew didn’t threaten her and he was trying to make her feel pleasure, not pain. Even with her reservations, she melted as he peppered kisses along her neck. It had been years since she’d been in a relationship and even longer since they’d cared to be gentle about it and the attention thrilled her. Each kiss lit nerves aflame and all at once the energy would zip along her skin as he moved as if it were desperately following him. He moved along her jaw and finally pressed his lips to hers, the energy she’d felt running along her nerves suddenly slipping along her skin and away from her. Thea trembled slightly as Matthew slowly removed his lips from hers, leaving her panting as if she’d just finished running.

 

He looked at her longingly for a moment before his eyes finally shifted back into their brilliant cerulean blues. “That’s more than enough,” he said, his normal cheery attitude back as he grinned at her. “Thanks~!”

 

The innkeeper blinked frantically, mind working desperately to catch up with the moment after being so thoroughly distracted. “What was that?” she asked him as he grasped her hand again and started to lead her away.

 

“What was what?” he asked back, turning around to walk backwards.

 

“The mist,” she said, not thinking twice about him not watching where he was walking. “Sam did it to me, too. It… plays havoc with my emotions.”

 

Matthew furrowed his brows in concern for a moment. “Does it bother you?”

 

“I…” she started, but they were both interrupted as he tripped over the rug he would have seen if he’d been walking forward. Out of instinct, she pulled him to her and wrapped her other arm about his waist as they fell. She turned so she took the brunt of the impact with a pained grunt.

 

“H-hey! Are you okay?” Matthew asked, sitting up and scrambling off of her mere moments after they fell.

 

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m good,” she added after a moment, growling a bit to herself as she twisted her torso several different directions to check on herself. “I’ve hit the floor way harder than that before,” she commented with a mirthless chuckle, forcing herself to sit up. “Don’t worry about me.”

 

“Miss!” James’ voice echoed through the Great Room and she heard steps closing in on her. “Are you alright?”

 

Thea waved him off as he came to her side and held out his hand. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine. Stop with the worrying… I’m not some fragile flower to treat like glass…”

 

Despite her assurances, he grasped her arm to help her up when she took a bit too long to get up. “What happened?” he asked, glancing over at Matthew with a look of disappointment.

 

The younger raven haired incubus opened his mouth to speak, expression one of indignation, but was interrupted.

 

“He was walking backwards and talking to me. We fell and I made sure I took the brunt of it,” Thea said simply. She offered a small shrug. “Like I said, it’s fine. I’ve dealt with a lot worse. Plus, I asked him the question, so I kinda deserved it.”

 

James knitted his brows in concern. “You don’t deserve to be hurt, Miss,” he assured her. “Ever.”

 

Thea chuckled. “I appreciate the sentiment,” she replied. “Now, Matthew said you all needed my help figuring out the sink?”

 

The eldest didn’t seem pleased with how she reacted to his assertion, but he let it drop. “Yes. Where do you draw the water from? We weren’t able to find a well or water source…”

 

The innkeeper barked out a laugh. “It doesn’t work like that here,” she told him, offering a smile. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

 

She lead them both back into the kitchen quirking a brow at the sight that greeted her. Sam was leaning over the sink and messing with the dishes, Erik was trying to get him to stop and Damien was leaning against the island with a small smile at his lips. 

 

“Water’s gotta be here somewhere—”

 

Thea wandered up behind Sam, leaning around him with a smirk on her lips. “You turn the handle,” she said, pushing his head down quickly before turning the cold water tap. He all but howled at her as chilly water ran over the back of his head. “The fuck was that for, woman?!” he snapped at her, pushing away from her and shaking his head vigorously.

 

Thea shrugged. “Just ‘cause I could,” she answered, only tilting her head away to keep some of the spray off of her face. She could hear Matthew and Damien laughing, and she was relieved to know that they at least found it funny.

 

“Must you shake off like a  **dog** , Sam?” Erik groaned, his hands raised in front of his face like the rest of the boys while his brother continued to shake.

 

“What else’ll get it off?” he retorted sharply, still occasionally shaking his head and wiping at it with his hands.

 

“You could just adjust the glamor spell,” Erik reminded him, tone sour.

 

Sam stopped, looking confused for a second. “Yeah. I forgot about that…” he said. For a brief second his body shimmered and suddenly his hair was dry and properly styled again but he also had no clothes.

 

Thea whirled around on her heels so she was facing away from him once her brain registered that fact. “Woah!” she huffed, stilling herself by grasping onto the edge of the counter. “Okay. Whatever that ‘glamor spell’ is maybe you wanna use it to put back on some clothes?!”

 

“Humans…” Sam groused. “So finicky…”

 

She slowly turned back after hearing a light hum in the air and found him just in his jeans. Thea pursed her lips, but after a moment she just rolled her eyes.  _ You want to push the boundaries, huh _ ? she asked herself of the demon now at her side. She didn’t dislike Sam, but they were too similar in base temperament to  **not** butt heads. “ **Anyway** ,” she sighed, turning back to the still running water. “I shouldn’t have just left it running like that,” she admitted, reaching over and turning on the hot handle. “Turn on both to get warm water,” she explained. “The first one is for cold only, the second is for hot. They’re normally marked no matter what the use is; red for hot and blue for cold.”

 

“Where is the soap?” Damien asked.

 

Thea looked back at him with a smile. “It’s this little bottle here…” she started, reluctantly turning back to the sink, grabbing the cloth that was laying on the separator between the two sinks and pressing down on the top of a bottle sitting on a small shelf next to the faucets. The semi-transparent white liquid spilled out onto her cloth and she swore she heard at least one surprised intake of breath but she ignored it. “And then you just add some water,” she explained, quickly moving the cloth under the water and rubbed it. Within seconds the cloth was covered in soapy suds. “See?”

 

She turned off the water for a moment, twisting just enough to show them all the cloth. James and Damien were very intently watching while Erik and Matthew seemed a bit amused by either it or her. Sam looked as if he were bored out of his mind. Her gaze settled on Matthew, head tilting slightly. “Were you laughing?” she asked.

 

He blushed lightly, gaze shifting away from her. “...it looked like seed,” he muttered.

 

“Matthew!” James snapped. Thea was surprised to find a light dusting of pink on his cheeks as well. Apparently it had surprised and embarrassed him just as much as it had Thea, once she realized what exactly he was talking about. People nowadays didn’t often call it ‘seed’, after all.

 

“What?!” Matthew replied, expression and tone defensive. “It did! I couldn’t help but wonder what creature—”

 

“It wasn’t from a creature!” Thea butted in, face now quite red. “This is likely completely synthetic.”

 

“Synthetic?” Damien asked, apparently trying to adjust the conversation a little. She noted that he looked even more uncomfortable than James did.

 

“Created in a lab. Made by humans. Not organic,” Thea listed off. She was still a bit flustered from Matthew’s thoughts on the liquid soap. She would now never see it the same way again. 

 

“Lab?” he asked, trying to clarify the explanation in his mind.

 

“Uh… like a workshop?” she tried to answer. “It’s difficult to explain.”

 

“Gimme that,” Sam grumbled, snatching the cloth out of Thea’s hand. “Let’s just get this stupid shit over with…”

 

She shuffled away from him, slipping between James and Matthew. “I’m going to head back to the office,” she said as she got past them. None of them commented as she left, which she was grateful for. After Matthew’s commentary she was reminded that sex was apparently always at the back of their minds. “Just remember to shut off the water when you’re done!” she added just before she exited the kitchen.

 

As she wandered back to the office and to her laptop her brain laid out for her the irony and oddity that currently was her life. Thea had all but run off after high school with a guy, who treated her like shit after earning her trust and love, then when she finally snapped out of that ‘spell’ she was too proud to get back into contact with her mother. It was too hard to admit that the woman who’d tried so hard to mold her had been right about a mistake she was going to make. That freedom tasted like ashes when she sat in a woman’s shelter, terrified out of her mind. Then she tried to get her life back in order, lived with friends, moved around a lot to avoid Keith’s stalking, and had several other ill-advised trysts to try and regain her self-esteem and sexuality… and just as she’d become comfortable with her life and herself again it fell apart. Now she’d taken the only lifeline she’d seen in her spiral and was taking up far more than just the business that her mother had left behind. She was apparently also taking up her mother’s magical contacts, or at the very least was now trapped into taking care of a promise that her mother had made.

 

She wasn’t sure how to feel about all this. On one hand, it was exciting— both because they brought her pleasure so easily and relied on her for energy and to teach them— but on the other it was daunting. This was a whole new world. Magic, demons, incubi, angels… and if the last one existed, did god? What was it, if it did exist? How was she supposed to deal with all this? Would the incubi demand sex eventually? Had she left one abusive relationship just to be trapped into being a fuck toy for five insatiable creatures? Even with the powers they had to make her weak in the knees… that idea was terrifying. Her mind swam with questions and possible scenarios as she flopped back into the office’s swivel chair. “Fuck me…” she growled to herself.

 

“Idiom?” Damien’s quiet voice asked as he stood in the doorway, hands tucked self-consciously into his front jeans pockets.

 

Thea jumped again with a gasp, having to scramble to sit back in the chair before it rolled away. “Yea-yeah. Just an idiom,” she finally managed to say after a few slow, controlled breaths.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I… keep scaring you.”

 

She shook her head. “You don’t mean to. It’s okay. Like I said before, I’ll get better eventually.” Thea did her best to offer Damien a reassuring smile, but the way he expressed concern in return made it falter.

 

“You don’t have to pretend to be strong,” he told her. “We’ll help you any way we can. You only have to ask.”

 

Thea wasn’t certain how to take that. “I’m not pretending anything,” she told him. “I need to teach you all how to live here—”

 

Damien shook his head. “No. Not that.”

 

“Then what?”

 

The redhead hesitated, gaze falling away from her to the floor. “Our feeding… it bothers you. You don’t have good memories—”

 

“Stop,” Thea growled, brows knitting as she stood and pushed her chair away. She pointed accusingly at him, but she didn’t have the conviction to advance on him. “Stop right there. You don’t get to go poking in my mind about that.”

 

Damien’s brows knit and his grip on his pockets tightened. “I-I can’t—”

 

“Control it?” she interrupted him. “I get it. But keep it to yourself.”

 

He reached out with one hand, but didn’t touch her as if he feared doing so. “But you’re—”

 

“In pain?” she cut him off again, teeth gritting for a moment before she barked out a mirthless laugh. “Yes. I’m  **always** in pain, Damien. There’s nothing new about that.”

 

“We don’t want to—”

 

“Make it worse?” she offered, getting to a point where she just wanted him to stop talking. “I assure you, Damien,” she muttered, “nothing you all would do could even scratch my scars. You all actually care how I feel because you need it to be pleasure in order to feed.” She watched him for only a few moments, feeling her anger slip away into a defeated sigh and her gaze dropped to the floor. “Just… stop bringing it up.  **That** does hurt. It does open up the scars… just not the ones you can see.”

 

She didn’t see him move, but heard him and looked up when he grasped her hands. He was searching her eyes for something, but there was only pain to be seen.

 

“You’ve already done so much, just by allowing us to be here. And you’re a great teacher,” he told her, voice quiet and tender again. “We don’t want you to hurt. From anything we do, or your past. Allow us to help, Thea. Please…”

 

Thea found herself stiffening, a shiver making its way down her spine at his use of her name.  _ Maybe names do have power after all… _ she thought. It didn’t make any sense, but perhaps his voice did the same thing to her as Erik and James’? She wasn’t certain. Still, she already felt a bit better.

 

Damien smiled slightly and leaned in, pressing their foreheads together. “It’s the intent that matters,” he breathed.

 

They stood there like that for a few long moments, both with their eyes closed.  _ You’re waiting, aren’t you? _ she asked him in her own head as she came to the realization.

 

Damien hummed in confirmation. “And I told you I can wait. I meant it.”

 

She opened her eyes and pulled away. “And  **I** told  **you** that you needed it more than your brothers, since you’re using more energy.” Thea brushed her thumb over his knuckles. It was calming, being able to offer affection freely. She still wasn’t sure how to categorize the guys’ relationships to her in her head, but they were at least friends. “It’s okay, Damien. I give you permission to feed.”

 

His eyes shot open and held themselves wide. “Ar-are you sure? I’m used to not feeding. I really can just eat—”

 

Thea leaned up into him, putting a chaste kiss to his lips. It was a bit more than she normally would have given a friend, but she had a feeling he needed her to break that barrier first. “Hush,” she said, chuckling as she pulled away.

 

His blue and purple irises melted away into gold and she shivered as she felt the heat even before the mist appeared. He released his grip on her hands, instead running them up her arms and along her shoulders to her neck. His touch there was light, tender, but even so energy tickled her skin and followed his movements. For the first time, the melting feeling of forced desire didn’t feel scary or even forced. Perhaps a bit out of place, as their interaction had been quiet and sweet instead of passionate and he continued the trend. Damien leaned in to press a kiss to her temple, her cheek and followed along her jaw until he reached her ear. Nibbling on her earlobe and rewarded him with a shock of energy and a low moan she bit back before it slipped past her lips.

 

_ They never bothered _ …! she thought, even her inner voice was panting as she realized how little she knew about her own body aside from her genitals and chest. Thea didn’t expect him to suck on the earlobe he’d been testing, but it had her grasping desperately at his shirt.  _ More! _ she found herself begging in her head.

 

Damien quietly groaned, the sound muffled in his throat just as hers had been. He ran this thumbs along her jaw, reluctantly releasing her ear after a quick lick at its edge and kissed his way back to her mouth. She whined at the denial, but somewhere in her head she understood why. While it was key to pleasure her, this was still business in a away. He was feeding. That was it. She had to remind herself about that.

 

His kiss at her lips spoke of need and she felt the energy that had been zipping along her nerves, making her even hotter under his touch, finally make its way out of her body. He nipped at her lower lip, making her moan into the kiss and she swore through her haze that his mouth twitched as if he smiled at the sound even as they kissed. It had seemed like forever in the moment, but Damien pulled away with a quick lick at his lips. He grasped her hands as he pulled them off his shirt, a small smile at his lips as he opened his eyes again. They were completely back to normal and she marveled at their brilliant colors in awestruck silence. “Thank you,” he murmured, pulling up her hands and putting a kiss on each set of knuckles. “Thea…”

 

She nodded, unable to form any coherent thoughts even though she had been released from whatever spell they cast. After he slowly released her hands, she found enough of her nerve to speak again. “What  **is** that?” she asked.

 

The rest that she hadn’t been able to speak must have been in her mind because Damien understood without having to ask anything. “It’s called enthrallment,” he explained. “We use it when we feed because it intensifies lust and pleasure. What we typically feed from.”

 

“Typically?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

 

“We can also feed from excitement and joy. Basically, it is still pleasure, even if it’s not sexual,” he expounded.

 

“Oh. So, like,” she looked away for a moment and gestured to her laptop. “If I found something that I liked or found cute—”

 

“We could feed off that, yes,” he finished for her. “But it would only be a taste. As if you only had one bite of stew. Sexual energy is the most potent, so that is what we tend to seek out.”

 

Thea hummed to herself.  _ So it really is just how they feed _ … she mused in her head.  _ I can’t let myself think— _

 

“Ah!” Damien gasped, raising his hands and waving them slightly. “We do care!” he insisted. “I told you, we’re very grateful to you. Please, don’t think of us as just using you for energy. We want to repay you for taking us in. We’ll work hard for you and we will always make sure of your pleasure—”

 

“Because it’s what you feed on,” Thea interrupted him, doing her best not to sound or look disappointed. 

 

Damien knitted his brow, opening his mouth to speak, but unable to find the words.

 

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “It’s better that I think of it this way.” She smiled and reached up to pat his cheek. “I can’t get attached to you all. I’m just here to teach you and then you all deserve to make your own lives.”

 

Damien looked crestfallen, and it hurt Thea to see him like that but she forced a smile. “Go see if your brothers are done with the dishes. I want to show them something. Sam’s little stunt with that ‘glamor spell’ made me think of something.”

 

He hesitated, but eventually nodded and left the room.

 

Thea sighed heavily and sat back down in the office chair once again. After a moment to regain herself, she turned her attention to the laptop.  _ If they can make their clothes appear and disappear, we’re going to give them a better wardrobe than simple T-shirts and jeans _ …


	6. Identity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter’s SUPER LONG in comparison to the others. Full of drama and interesting things and gets a tad dark. Hopefully that’s okay!

Even though the office was a fairly large space, when the boys all filed in it felt terribly small. It didn’t help matters that they had to crowd her and each other just to see the small screen. She’d never cursed its small size until now.

 

“So what’s this about?” Sam asked. “Why’re you staring at that light book?”

 

Thea chuckled. “It’s called a laptop,” she informed him, turning around in her chair so they could actually see the screen. She’d pulled up men’s daily fashion in a google image search. “I got a bit of an idea with Sam’s little stunt with that ‘glamor spell’,” she said. “Can you all adjust what you’re wearing with magic?”

 

“In a sense,” James replied. “But it will draw from our reserves, so you may want to consider suggesting this carefully—”

 

“Would you wear actual clothes if I got them for you, then?” Thea asked, thinking nothing of interrupting James.

 

The brothers didn’t answer, looking between each other for a few moments. They didn’t seem to want to answer, rather than not being able to.

 

“I don’t want to wear shoes,” Matthew muttered, tapping his sneaker-encased foot on the floor.

 

“You don’t have to inside, but outside you’d better have them on,” Thea informed him. “Or you’ll need to wash your feet every time before you come inside.”

 

“Can do!” he piped up.

 

James sighed. “Are you sure about that, Miss? You are alright with bare feet traipsing about the house?”

 

“As long as they’re relatively  **clean** bare feet,” she pulled up her own legs a bit to wiggle her socked feet. “I usually have socks or bare feet inside too.”

 

“Alright!” Matthew exhaled happily, grinning at Thea.

 

The innkeeper offered a smile in return before drawing their attention back to the laptop. “I’ve pulled up images of every day wear for fashionable men. It’d be good to pull from these to make an outfit you all like to wear in public. Multiple would be good, considering people tend to have a closet full of clothes instead of just one outfit… but I understand if it’s too much energy.”

 

The brothers leaned in, trying to get a good look at the images.

 

“It’s like… paintings…” Damien murmured.

 

“But really detailed! And on a lit page,” Matthew marveled.

 

“What’s that one?” Sam asked, pointing at a particular picture.

 

Thea adjusted her stance enough that she could click on the picture, making it easier for him to see. “Looks like... a twill jacket with T-shirt and jeans. Nice loafers, too,” she pointed to each piece as she noted what it was.

 

“The shoes are stupid,” Sam said, though he shimmered and soon stood in the soft green twill jacket, grey T-shirt and his jeans remained on his legs. His feet remained in their black and white sneakers.

 

She tilted her head as she observed him. “That looks pretty good on you, actually,” she noted. “Nice choice.”

 

Sam completely avoided eye contact and said nothing, though Thea could see a light blush painting his cheeks and she grinned at him.

 

“Not that what you think matters,” he muttered. “It’s comfy. Not as comfy as nothin’, but you humans don’t go around naked or shirtless much.”

 

“Glad you remembered that,” she mused, which seemed to startle Sam back into silence again.

 

Thea started scrolling again and Matthew stopped her next. “Hey, wait! That one!”

 

She clicked to enlarge the picture. “Ah, you like a hoodie?” she asked, smile returning to her lips.

 

“Is that the second shirt there?”

 

“The jacket, yeah. Hoodies are cool. They have pockets that are actually comfortable to put and leave your hands in and, true to the name, have a hood you can flip up and down.”

 

“So it’s a hooded cloak?” James asked, quirking a brow.

 

“No,” Thea replied, shaking her head. The way they saw things was very interesting to her.  _ Our worlds and times are so different…  _ she couldn’t help but think to herself. “Cloaks are long, to your knees or ankles. These are just to around your butt or your waist and the hood is only enough to shield your head from rain. It takes a fair amount of stretching for it to cover your face much more than that.”

 

“Still, it looks interesting,” Matthew said, nodding to himself for a moment before focusing. His form shimmered just as Sam’s had, materializing a hoodie over his T-shirt and ridding him of his sneakers. He looked down at his toes and wiggle them with a grin. “Comfy!” he said, slipping his hands into his partially-zipped hoodie.

 

“Is there something that you enjoy seeing on males, Princess?” Erik inquired.

 

Thea chuckled again. “Not really,” she admitted, glancing over at him. “But, if you want to be  **smartly** dressed…” she mused, thought trailing off as she turned her attention back to the laptop. She scrolled down further, finally finding a model with a tailored vest. “This would probably look good on you,” she told him, leaning away after she’d clicked on the image.

 

“Hm! That does look nice~” Erik admitted. A moment’s shimmer later and he had a brown vest overlaid on his T-shirt. “Though it doesn’t look as good with this shirt, nor in that color…” he sighed. “I will have to adjust this.”

 

“You have plenty of time,” she assured him, eyes making little secret of admiring how the new vest hugged his form. He really was like a model, though she supposed they all were. It was ridiculous.

 

“Is there anything that is considered formal?” James asked.

 

“Well, yeah, suits…” she started, hesitating for a moment. “But you really don’t need to be wandering around in a full suit n’ tie ensemble during regular days,” Thea answered. She turned her attention to the computer once more. “You could be all  **fancy** , though. Erik’s vest is like that, but I’m sure you want to be different.” 

 

She nibbled on her lower lip as she scrolled through. “Ah! Here,” she finally said, leaning back after clicking on another image. “Something like this.” The newest image had a man with a khaki trench coat, blue and black scarf wrapped loosely about his neck, double breasted grey vest and black slacks that ended in well-polished black loafers. “Of course you won’t need the coat and scarf— the second layer of clothes on his shoulders and the thing about his neck— right now. It’s summer. Too hot for that stuff.”

 

James hummed to himself for a moment as he looked at the image. “The...coat? Seems like a bit much anyway,” he admitted. Moments later, he closed his eyes and his form shimmered. He’d apparently taken what Erik said to heart and substituted a long sleeved shirt for his T-shirt when he put on a vest. The black slacks that appeared were perfectly tailored and the loafers were squeaky new.

 

Thea shook her head slowly, a smile at her lips. “Man, having magic must be nice,” she said. “To think how much time and money I’d save by being able to just think and manifest the clothes I wanted.”

 

“It certainly is easier than using a tailor,” Erik admitted with a light chuckle.

 

She quirked a brow. “Do you all wear clothes?”

 

“Sons and Daughters of Lilith do not, but many other demons do,” James interjected. “The clothing is typically far more for propriety or for protection than simply to accessorize.”

 

“Sons and Daughters of Lilith?” Thea echoed.

 

“Incubi and Succubi, respectively, Miss,” James answered easily. “It is another name for us, as our race was birthed by Lilith.”

 

“Lilith… like Adam’s first wife Lilith?” she inquired further.

 

“Or so the christian bible goes,” he replied, chuckling. “There are many stories of how the human Lilith appeared in the Abyssal Plains and how she gave birth to our race, but none know the truth of it.”

 

The innkeeper’s mind swam with the implications, but she shook her head to help clear her mind. “Back on to our original topic— the reasons for clothing are essentially the same here,” Thea informed them. “Though the rich use clothes as another way to show off their wealth and their individual tastes.”

 

“So some bullshit traditions are just everywhere,” Sam grumbled. “The only place you need to put your wealth is back in the kingdom. In defenses or offence… but a massive offence is better than any defense.”

 

The innkeeper nodded. “For once, we agree,” she admitted. The brothers looked surprised, but she held up a hand as she continued. “Though less about the massive offence part. To have anything you own be strong, anything you get from it you need to put back into it. Reinvest time and energy into your life, money into your business, love back into your pets or plants...”

 

“Attention back into your relationship?” Erik offered, a sly smile parting his lips.

 

Thea nodded. “Exactly.”

 

“A wise strategy, especially for someone as young as you,” James noted.

 

She raised a brow as she looked to him. “Young?” she echoed. “You all can’t be older than me. No way.”

 

“Time… moves differently between the human and demon worlds,” James began. “That being said, I had passed my 114th year before we came here.”

 

Thea stared at him blankly.  _...wut? _ she thought. It was the only thing that the gears turned out before they squeaked to a stop. “You’re… 114…?” she finally managed to ask.

 

“Ah!” Damien gasped, actually making his brothers jump as well as Thea. “Harold gave us those hard papers,” he said. “He said those would have all our information on them.”

 

James relaxed. “Oh, yes. The identity papers…” he mused, fishing around in his new slacks pockets. He grasped whatever he was looking for and pulled it out. “Here.”

 

Thea took the ID card that James held out for her. It was a full license... for Illinois. Mr. Anderson really had pulled out all the stops. These looked entirely legit.  _ They have all their paperwork. You’ll need to take them to the local DMV to get it updated _ .... K’s commentary echoed in her head. They did indeed have all they needed. Especially if they had birth records and SS numbers as well as this. If Harold could get legitimate ID’s… there’s little doubt in her mind that he could get the rest, too.

 

“Your last name is Anderson,” she noted, chuckling at the thought. “I suppose that would have made it easier for Harold to keep in contact with you and help you out if you needed it. He was going to pretend y’all were his sons.” Thea’s lips parted in a small smile. “He did have quite a plan…” She flicked her eyes over the rest of the info, unsurprised to see his height listed as 6’0, certainly unsurprised at his hair and eye color and even less surprised that he was marked as ‘M’.  _ 8/30/1994  _ the DoB read. “You’re 23 here,” she read out. “So, in human years at least, you’re younger than me by 2 years.”

 

James took the card back as soon as she offered it to him. “That will take some getting used to,” he admitted, putting the ID back in his pocket. “But considering how much more you know than I, perhaps it will not be as difficult as I think.”

 

“Your birthday is just a few day ahead of mine,” she informed him. “I was born on September 2nd.”

 

All the brothers looked very confused and glanced between each other.

 

“You… know exactly what date you were born?” James finally spoke up, seemingly for all the brothers.

 

“Oh yeah, we have a celebration every year or at least acknowledge whenever that date comes around, too. I usually just drink,” Thea shrugged. “Or maybe binge on food and or TV.”

 

“TV?” Matthew and Damien asked, nearly simultaneously.

 

“I’ll have to show you all that later,” she said. “It’s… not really something I can explain without you seeing it.”

 

“Do we all have birthdays now, too?” Damien asked.

 

“If you all have those ID cards, yeah, you do,” Thea told him. “They have to be on there. It’s part of your identity here.”

 

Both Matthew and Damien seemed terribly excited and enamored by the idea. “What’s mine?!” Matthew all but blurted out, fishing in his new hoodie pocket for the card before sticking it in Thea’s face.

 

She laughed, taking the ID and looking it over. “May 1st. It’s the 5th month of the year.” Thea handed it back to him without ceremony. “That’s usually also the day a lot of people celebrate spring coming back around.”

 

“What about mine?” Damien asked, far quieter than Matthew had been but still all but vibrating with excitement as he held out the ID to her.

 

She took it and scanned the info. “October 11th,” she informed him. “Good thing it wasn’t a month before,” she added, a mirthless chuckle passed her lips at that.  _ My humor is so dark sometimes… _

 

“Why?” Damien asked, tilting his head after he put his card away again.

 

“September 11th was the day of a horrible tragedy for this country. Thousands of people died,” Thea recounted. “It was back in 2001. I was a kid. Just 9. I didn’t really understand what was happening, aside from it being a bad thing. Smoke and fire were usually a good indicator of something bad.”

 

“What happened?” Surprisingly, the question had come from Sam.

 

Thea looked to him, silent for a good few breaths as she thought over the answer. “If humans are good at one thing, Sam, it’s killing each other,” she finally told him. “It was a very effective attack. Using our own technology of flight against us.” She got the feeling that someone would have asked about how humans could fly, but they could feel her distress at the topic and decided not to delve further for the moment. “They martyred themselves in order to cause the most damage possible. And they did a very good job of that.”

 

The room went quiet, all the brothers apparently cowed into silence by the heaviness of the topic.

 

After a few moments, though, Damien spoke up. “Did  **you** lose anyone?”

 

Thea shook her head. “Thankfully, no. But I have met people who did. It was particularly tough for them because it was a national tragedy and it felt like they couldn’t be alone in their grief. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been. No to mention anyone that didn’t want a war over it. The politicians used it as an excuse for more bloodshed and more lives lost in a war that’s been going on most of my life.”

 

“This place doesn’t look like a battlefield,” Matthew commented. “It’s peaceful. And not covered in blood…”

 

The innkeeper smiled, though there was no happiness behind the expression. “It’s not fought here,” she attempted to explain. “We try and keep our wars off our soil. We go where the enemies, or where the politicians  **claim** our enemies are.”

 

“Sounds like a good strategy,” Sam noted. “Bring the fight to them. Protect your kingdom.”

 

Thea laughed again, though bitterly. “And what of the other people in the country? The ‘kingdom’ doesn’t just have soldiers. It’s just ‘good strategy’ to destroy places that service soldiers… but they also serve the people. You end up murdering innocents and creating more martyrs.”

 

“Have they attacked you again since?” Sam asked.

 

“Not as directly—”

 

“Then the war’s working.”

 

“It’s not that simple, Sam,” she snapped. “War is fought on multiple fronts here. With every innocent person we kill, we do the extremists’ jobs for them. Recruiting is easy when you don’t even have to provide propaganda to show the enemy is evil.”

 

“Evil?” he scoffed, crossing his arms. “You’re just defending yourself!”

 

“By taking over their land?  **Murdering** their people? I think not.” Thea watched him, gaze hard. “If one can avoid war or violence, one should. The cost is too high. Both in actual lives and collateral damages.”

 

No one seemed brave enough to speak up at that and after a few tense moments, Thea sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m going to leave this search page up,” she told them. “All you need to do is tap these to enter new words to search for,” she began to explain, gesturing to the keyboard. “And then press this one labeled ‘enter’,” she added, tapping oh-so-gently on the ‘enter’ key. “That’ll bring up new results, if you all want to explore clothing a bit more.”

 

She stood and the boys parted like the Red Sea for Moses. Thea paused at the door. “Remember to turn off the lights before you leave,” she told them. “Like this,” she casually flicked the switch by the doorframe down and received a soft  _ click _ as the room went dark aside from the laptop. She left them in the dark for only a moment before flicking it back up.

 

“Woah…” Matthew exhaled, eyes wide as saucers. “So  **that’s** what you meant! Do it again!”

 

Thea chuckled. “Do it yourself if you want,” she suggested.

 

Erik groaned as Matthew scurried over to the switch and began flipping it back and forth while staring up that the ceiling. “Must you do that so  **quickly** ?”

 

“It’s really fun!”

 

“It strains the eyes,” Erik informed him. “Stop it.”

 

“Is this also electricity, Miss?” James asked, clearly just as bothered by the flickering light as Erik judging by his squinted eyes was but trying to ignore it.

 

“Yes,” she answered, also having to squint her eyes a bit as she let Matthew get his latest excited phase over with. “It’s typically how we illuminate anything. We don’t really use torches or candles much. Sometimes we have scented candles, though. Those are nice.”

 

“Can you not smell others?” Damien asked. “There are scents for emotion, intensity of scents for power… why would you need more?”

 

Thea quirked a brow. “No. I mean, not unless they’ve stopped bathing and are dirty or something. Most people don’t have a smell or, at least, we clean ourselves enough that any smell we naturally have is washed away regularly. We can put stuff on us to change how we smell, but it doesn’t usually last long. The candles are meant to help relax.”

 

“Or maybe human senses are just too weak,” Sam muttered, though his attention was clearly on the curly haired brother as he gleefully continued messing with the lights. “Matthew! Stop it!” He growled at his brother, reaching out and grasping the younger incubi’s wrist and pulling it away from the switch.

 

“Hey!” he whined, pursing his lips as he looked at Sam. The rest of the brothers were relieved that they could finally see without their pupils constantly adjusting. 

 

“You can be the one to turn on and off the lights,” James told him. Matthew’s eyes widened again as he looked to his eldest brother, a light blush on his cheeks from excitement. “ **But** ,” he added, Matthew’s energy barely dampening, “Miss Thea will tell you when to turn them on or off. None of this back and forth.”

 

Thea took notice of Jame’s use of her name for the first time, a small shiver tracing her spine. It was interesting how much more important her name sounded when it wasn’t used so often. “I’ll have to get used to telling someone else to do it,” Thea said. “But, sure.”

 

“Really…?” Matthew asked. When he received a nod, he all but jumped on her, wrapping his arms about her shoulders and squeezing her. “Thank you~!”

 

Thea yelped, heart hammering within a second and hands at her sides twitching.  _ Too close. Too much. Too fast. Let go. _ Her mind chanted at him, but she was frozen.

 

“Matthew, let go,” Damien instructed.

 

“Huh?” Matthew asked, turning his head to look at his brother.

 

“She’s extremely uncomfortable…”

 

“Oh…” the second-youngest released his grip, offering Thea a sheepish smile. “S-sorry…”

 

Thea released a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding and it shuddered on its way out. “It’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Eventually. I just… need to get used to the fact that you’re touchy-feely.” She offered him the biggest smile she could muster, though it was small in comparison to his. “Anyway, I’m going to see if I can’t put my bags up in the master bedroom and get ready to sleep. You all have fun with the search. Hopefully you can find outfits you like.” With that said, she shuffled around Matthew and headed out of the office.

 

She hadn’t even gotten to the door of the innkeeper’s living area before she heard footsteps beyond her own.

 

“Miss—” James started.

 

Thea turned to find him having stopped only a few paces away. “Yeah?” she asked.

 

For once, the eldest brother hesitated. “...are you... alright?”

 

She took in his expression, concern etching across most of his face but she swore she saw a twinge of pity. That was something that always irked her, even though it came from a place of compassion. “I’ll be fine, like I said.”

 

“Will you?”

 

“Why do you all not take me at my word about this?” she huffed. Despite the minor outburst, the innkeeper averted her gaze and pulled up a hand to rub self-consciously at her opposite arm. “I have a lot of scars you can’t see,” she relented. “They’re still tender, even though I’ve made a lot of progress. I’d prefer it if you all ignored them, as I do. I’d like to think they’d go away faster that way.”

 

“From that past you don’t want to talk about, I take it?” James prodded.

 

“Yeah,” she answered crisply, her mind recalling K’s reaction to her prodding about Harold. “From that.”

 

She knew he was watching her, but they sat with the silence for a time. Thea lifted her gaze to the office as she heard the remaining boys arguing about something.

 

“A wound won’t heal without proper treatment,” James offered, his expression still of concern as Thea’s gaze finally turned to him before he continued speaking. “Just as ignoring hunger does not sate it.”

 

Even though it was hardly a come on, Thea’s cheeks flushed. “Oh,” she breathed. “Right… You were,” she paused, swallowing. “Needing to feed.” She had completely forgotten about that in all the chaos that his brothers had stirred up.

 

“I can wait, if necessary,” he offered, voice quieter than she ever recalled it being. She didn’t immediately take him up on his offer, so he continued. “But… the glamor spell adjustments drained some reserve.”

 

There was a tenseness between them, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Thea still didn’t answer, sensing there was something else that was itching to be said but she was unable to insist he spit it out.

 

“And you,” he started again, gaze expressing something Thea couldn’t quite place. “Impress me. I… would very much like to taste you.”

 

“Taste?” she echoed, a nervous chuckle slipping over her lips as her ears bloomed pink. The hand that had been at her arm lifted to rub at the back of her neck. “That’s quite a way to put it...”

 

“But not incorrect,” he reminded her, still not moving forward despite her apparent acquiescence. After they seemed stuck again, he held out a hand. “Should I help you to your room?”

 

A round of raucous laughter and what was apparently Sam yelling echoed into the room from the office. Thea smiled as her gaze slipped over towards the noises.  _ They need you _ , she thought to herself.  _ Relax. They’re not going to hurt you. _ Her gaze shifted back to James.  _ Especially not him _ . Thea grasped his hand. To his apparent surprise, according to the sharp exhale she heard, she also pulled it as she headed into the living room. “I don’t really have much to put upstairs,” she told him. “But it is three levels of stairs, so your assistance would be helpful.”

 

“Of course,” was all she heard from him as she guided him along. He offered no resistance to her and kept up easily due to his height.

 

Thea was surprised to find that she was reluctant to release her grip on his hand, but forced herself to. Her now free hand wandered between two bags for a moment before slipping her arm through the loop of her duffle bags’ handle and standing up. “If you could take that one, that’d be great,” she said, tapping the handle to her cheap, world-weary khaki suitcase.

 

She headed towards the stairs only when she saw James nod and reach for the bag. They climbed the stairs in their comfortable silence, not finding any trouble on the way up. Thea hadn’t even been in this room yet and she was waffling between emotions as she entered. She’d never seen a spiral staircase with a door only at the top level, but she supposed her mother had been one for privacy if nothing else in her life.

 

The decor was pretty much as far from Thea’s taste as one could get. A beautiful powdery blue lined the walls and the furniture was all light cream or white. Even the king bed’s linens echoed the color scheme. There were small details here and there of inlaid gold and the woman even had an old-fashioned vanity with a powder blue puff of a cushion on the stool that sat in front of it. Thea could practically see her mother putting on her makeup as she stood there and  _ tsk _ ed under her breath. “This is gonna have to change,” she muttered to herself, lazily plopping the duffle bag on her shoulder down onto the chaise at the edge of the bed.

 

“You don’t like your mother’s taste in decor?” James asked.

 

As she looked at him, she swore she saw the faintest of smirks at his lips. She couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or not. “No,” she answered firmly. “This is way too bright. And fancy. And, frankly,  **opulent** ...” she muttered.

 

He actually chuckled, holding a closed hand against his lips as if to muffle the sound. “You know, for not liking Sam much, you’re a lot like him. Just with a far larger vocabulary and better morals.”

 

_ So he  _ **_was_ ** _ picking on me! _ she cried in her head.  _ Okay, James. You wanna play? I can play. _ “Of all your brothers, you compare me to  **him** ?” she asked, sighing. Thea ran a hand through her hair and leaned her head back as she did so, adding a dramatic flick of her wrist as it left her locks. She wouldn’t directly insult Sam, since James clearly loved his brothers, but the suggestion was there.

 

“Which of us would you prefer to be compared to?” James asked in return, his hand moving away from his mouth and slipping beneath his arm as he watched her. He was no longer hiding his smile. 

 

“Oh, I don’t know,” she countered.  _ Start with the others. Then lead up to him _ . she instructed herself. “I would like to think I share Damien’s gentleness.”

 

“When you are not defending yourself from perceived invaders, perhaps,” he admitted. “Is that your preference? My youngest brother is… special, in many ways. There is much to see there, if he lets you in.”

 

“I will have to keep that in mind,” Thea mused. “I’m afraid I can’t be as smooth as Erik, but there must be more than that to him.”

 

“Indeed there is,” James replied. “Though he will make it difficult for you, in particular, to see anything else.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because he— as do each of us— owes you a debt. It is only natural to want to show your best side to those that hold power over you.”

 

Thea actually barked out a laugh at the idea that she held any power over these brothers. They had magic, and special abilities; she did not. There was little to compare in terms of power. “Power? Really, now?” she asked. “I doubt that.”

 

His expression fell, and she immediately felt guilt pool in her gut. “We are… resourceful, Miss, but we would be arrogant to think that we would survive long in an entirely new world without guidance or monetary assistance.”

 

“And you think I’d be the type to kick you all out after letting you in just to get some kind of power trip?” Thea inquired, quirking a brow.

 

“No!” he said. His answer came so quickly that even she was a bit surprised. “You are magnanimous, even after we all but invaded your new home. You offered us shelter; are teaching us; providing us a  **living** . Even though it was not what Harold originally intended, my brothers and I will never be able to pay you back.”

 

She was struck silent for a few moments, actually feeling like she might tear up from the sheer gratefulness in his tone. She’d never been in this kind of position before. She’d been the one  **needing** help, but not the one that was able to give it. “Well,” she finally managed to say, offering him the largest genuine smile she had since they arrived. She took a few steps forward, raising a hand to gently grasp his shoulder. “Then I suppose it’s a good thing I’m not the type to take advantage of any power I have over others.”

 

James’s smile returned and his gaze caught hers, intent, like it was searching for something. “Oh, I think my brothers and I wouldn’t mind if you took charge a bit,” he mused. Thea was still not entirely certain he was joking or teasing her.

 

“Really?” she asked, clearly incredulous. “The eldest brother would simply turn over his reins to an all but stranger?”

 

“You lead from a place of knowledge and experience and aren’t harsh,” he informed her. “I have had far worse teachers than you, Miss Thea.”

 

_ There it is again _ … she thought. Still, even though her name was gated behind that ‘miss’, it struck her. “We’ll see how long you feel that way, James,” she chided him in reply.

 

They were quiet again, though it was still not awkward. Each of them seemed to be looking for something in the other, but either could not find it or were not sure they had.

 

“Are you still…?” she started, unable to figure out how to properly bring up the topic. 

 

“Yes,” he replied simply. “Is that an invitation?”

 

Thea’s flush returned and painted the tips of her ears as well as her face. She couldn’t form the words, but managed a small nod.

 

James’s smile turned to a smirk, whiskey eyes easily shifting to gold and within a breath Thea felt the emotional effects of enthrallment take hold. Her pulse quickened, flush deepened and this time she noted energy zipping along from even her core and dancing along her skin. His hand reached out, fingertips tracing along the skin of her neck and gently pushing her jaw up. Their height difference made the adjustment necessary as he leaned over and placed a kiss at the edge of her lips.

 

Even through her enthrallment, she was confused. “Did you just...  **miss** … **?** ” she asked, though the question came out more like panting.

 

“Purposefully,” he answered her in a breath, pressing another kiss towards her cheek. Her energy tickled her skin, leaving heat not only at his touch but following as his face and hand moved along her form. Her body bade her try to follow and actually have him kiss her but he held her jaw in place. Gently, which she was grateful for, but still firmly. “Just… let me,” he murmured against her skin as he placed several more kisses along her face.

 

Thea didn’t have much option, even if she didn’t want him to continue. The thought made a part of her not so thoroughly entranced, panic.  _ What if he doesn’t want to stop? Can I stop him? Would he actually listen if I said stop? _ The thoughts roiled in the back of her mind, but she didn’t speak of them and did her best to ignore them. The enthrallment was still working its literal magic and she was wrapped up in her body’s need. Her arms reached up to wrap around his neck, drawing him closer even as he took his time kissing down to her jaw and lightly nipping at her neck. “I thought,” she started, still having difficulty forming words through the heat the enthrallment brought her. “You said you wanted to taste me,” Thea managed to pant, threading her fingers into his hair.

 

“I am,” he replied easily, vibrations from his words tickling her neck. After another light kiss, he pulled back. His golden orbs stared into hers with an intensity that should have scared her, his free hand ghosting over her skin to draw the energy about as if to tease her further. “Was there something  **else** you wanted…?”

 

There was a new quality to his voice, Thea noted. A deep timbre that was not just his voice. It echoed and the effect ran a chill up her spine her even through the enthrallment.  _ They’re still not humans _ , she heard herself think.  _ I have to remember that _ . She wasn’t certain what she was hearing, but she did know it wasn’t her imagination. “Aren’t you going to feed?” she asked, her voice suddenly small and uncertain despite her flushed face and rapid heartbeat.

 

Something flashed in his expression, but she couldn’t pinpoint what. After a moment, his eyes glittered and the mist expanded. “In due time,” he told her, a small smirk painting his lips as she involuntarily released a moan. Her mind’s worries were pushed away, though she could still hear them they were a distant chorus that she could no longer focus on. The heat that pooled in her core made her wriggle in place, the earlier wish for it to be wrapped up forgotten for the constant drumbeat of  _ more, more,  _ **_more_ ** . 

 

As if he could hear her wishes like his youngest brother, James kissed just below her ear and this time she actually felt some of her energy leaving her skin. Her vision lost focus as he took up a sharp nibble at her ear and she gripped even tighter to his hair. The faint chorus grew louder again. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually say anything like ‘stop’ to him. Why was she having so many concerns with James? She’d been worried with the others, but it got easier after they started. Maybe because he was taking his time and the others had been quick?

 

The thoughts were forced away again as he sucked on her earlobe and she whimpered. Energy shot from her core through her neck, flaring pleasure and heat before it slipped away and into James. As his lips’ travel along the shell of her ear was rewarded with needy pants, he chuckled. His lips brushed against her ear and the sound echoed in her mind. It held that new timbre, the ethereal echo that she hadn’t seen in any other brother. “I see why Erik had such a hard time with you earlier,” he murmured, assailing her ear one last time with a sharp nip. Another round of energy shot through her and was pulled away. “You’re fit to burst…” James leaned back to look at her, that impossible to pin down expression crossing his face once more. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead he finally leaned into her and laid claim to her lips. The kiss was simple, entirely lip lock, but radiated need even more than Damien’s had. His hand slipped from her jaw along her neck and held the back of her head tightly as he kissed her. Once, twice, thrice, each claiming their fair share of her energy as it raced along her skin. Her head felt light, then her body and she clung to him for support.

 

All at once, the enthrallment ended and the flaring heat subsided. Her thoughts came screaming at her again, worries raging in her head. Comparisons to Keith, though not deserved, were amongst the raucous chorus. James held her tightly as she shook, unable to decide if she should try and pull away or just break down in tears.

 

“M-miss?” he asked, gently running a hand through her hair. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

 

She slowly shook her head, but buried it firmly against his chest. Tears had spilled from her eyes as she tried to manage her thoughts. It was to little avail.

 

James kept hold of her and part of her screeching thoughts wanted him to release her immediately, the rest suggested she’d likely then fall over. There was so much conflicting in her head and in her heart. She jerked in his grip as a series of hard knocks came to the door.

 

“Thea?” She already knew it was Damien, even before her mind recognized his muffled voice through the door. Her thoughts had been loud enough for him to hear and come running.

 

“The door’s unlocked,” Thea said, finally turning her head so that he could hopefully hear her despite her voice being barely above a whisper.

 

The redhead peeked out from around the corner of the door frame, apparently concerned about actually interfering. James’s expression was unreadable as Thea looked up to him. He reached up and brushed at the corners of her eyes to pull the tears that had begun to form from her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have increased the enthrallment. Something was wrong…”

 

As much as she wanted to, Thea couldn’t tell him it was okay. Something  **was** wrong.

 

“She said stop in her head, but she didn’t know if she really wanted it to,” Damien offered. “I came because it got very,  **very** loud and I couldn’t ignore it.”

 

James sighed heavily, almost dramatically, and turned his gaze fully on Thea. “Next time, tell me— or any of us— to stop,” he insisted. “It will not hurt us. Or insult us. You are being gracious in offering us your energy in the first place.”

 

“Okay,” Thea agreed. After a moment’s pause, she added, “I’m sorry I didn’t say it…”

 

The eldest offered a smile, but it was tinged with sadness or perhaps even guilt. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he assured her, releasing his grip on her.

 

Thea followed suit, but had to focus on steadying herself.

 

“Woah, hey!” Damien cried, scrambling over to her. James had reached out, but hesitated, so his brother had taken the initiative instead. “Let me help you to bed…”

 

Thea simply nodded and let him guide her to the bed. All of the sudden she didn’t have the fucks left to care what color the room or the bed was. She sank down into the plush bedding the moment Damien allowed her to, eyes closing.

 

“Rest well, Miss,” James said. A few moments later, the door opened and clicked shut.


	7. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I split this chapter, departing from the focus on Thea as she fell asleep to get a bit of a taste for the brothers on their own as they explore the inn a little on their own. Hopefully it's not jarring for you all. xD

Despite closing her eyes when she flopped onto the side of the bed, Thea was not asleep. Her mind wouldn’t let her sleep. _Why did I freak out? He wasn’t hurting me. It felt_ **_good_ ** _. Why did it bother me? This is so stupid—_

 

“You can’t control your emotions all of the time,” Damien piped up, sitting down next to her on the bed. He leaned over to move her, but she stiffened and whispered memories in her head made him pause. “He isn’t anything like him,” Damien said quietly. “None of us are.”

 

 _I keep forgetting about your ability_ … she thought, not even bothering to verbalize it or open her eyes.

 

“You are far from the only one,” Damien said, a short chuckle passing his lips. “But you are the second person to talk to me in your head so much.”

 

 _Do you like it?_ She asked, eyes properly opening as she looked to him and tilted her head slightly. Her body regained enough stamina for her to push herself up and shuffle back so she could lay properly in the middle of the bed.

 

“I…” he paused, smile quickly disappearing, gaze shifting elsewhere for a few moments as he thought. “I don’t know.”

 

_Why?_

 

The tables had turned on him, they both realized this, since it was usually Damien asking that question. He sighed heavily, flashing a sad smile at her. “The only other person that talked to me like that was my mother. And she could read minds, just like me.”

 

 _Oh_ , she thought, laughing softly aloud. _So I’m like your mother_.

 

His expression shifted and her heart wrenched. It looked as if he were about to cry. “I hope not,” he managed to say.

 

Thea forced herself to sit up, grasping his shoulder. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know she was—”

 

“There was no way for you to have known,” Damien assured her, offering up his sad attempt at a reassuring smile. He lightly grasped her hand at his shoulder and squeezed. “And I would rather not talk about her. I’m sure you understand...”

 

“Of course,” Thea said, nodding. Of all the people he could have met, she understood that wish far more than most. She didn’t like talking about her mother because Julianna had wanted to control who she was, but she could tell it had been far more either dark or sad a tale when it came to Damien and his mother. A part of her wanted to know, but she wouldn’t pry. _Maybe one day_ , she caught herself thinking.

 

“Maybe,” Damien echoed aloud, but the agreement sounded both half-hearted and hollow.

 

Thea shuffled over on the bed so she could sit with her legs crossed next to him. She turned her head to look at him, leaning forward a bit. “Thank you,” she said, deeming it important to actually speak the words this time.

 

“For what?” he asked, legitimately looking confused.

 

“For coming,” she answered. “And staying.”

 

Damien hummed. For a moment, he appeared at a loss for words. “I should have come when I heard you say stop,” he said, shaking his head. “It didn’t need to go farther than that. I could have—”

 

Thea reached up, putting a finger to his lips. “No,” she said. “Hush.” She removed the appendage and offered a small smile. “James needed to feed. It was best you didn’t stop him. His hunger would have just been more intense later.”

 

He opened his mouth as if he felt the need to protest that, but slowly shut it. She was right and he knew it. “Still,” he said after a few moments of silence. “I will suggest to my brothers that we not use enthrallment on you for the time being.”

 

“That wasn’t—”

 

“It stopped you from being able to say ‘stop’,” he informed her, tone bordering on harsh.

 

Thea’s eyes widened. Had it? She tried to think back to James’ feeding and sort through the memory. At first it seemed a stupid fear, but she combed through carefully and found the knot. He’d increased the enthrallment when she’d had doubts. Damien was right.

 

Damien nodded from beside her. “It’s usually used to procure consent,” he explained. “My brothers don’t find it to be coercive, but I do.”

 

“You used it on me, though,” she reminded him, memory of the approaching intimate encounter flashing through her mind.

 

“Only after the initial consent and I was listening carefully to you for any whisper of a ‘stop’,” he defended. “If you are alright with it, the enthrallment just makes it all feel even better for you.”

 

Thea narrowed her eyes at him, but couldn’t argue. Of all the brothers, he would be safest using it because of his ability to read her mind. He’d know even if she couldn’t tell him aloud.

 

“Or if you had more flashbacks,” Damien said, having clearly been attentive to her thoughts even in that moment. “Like you had a few minutes ago when I wanted to help you onto the bed.”

 

She swallowed, the idea of flashbacks bringing up several unwanted memories. Whispered _you’re mine_ haunting her ears as she slept.

 

“Thea…” Damien breathed, expression and tone suddenly full of pity.

 

Grasp of hands along her inner thighs to pry her apart—

 

“ **Stop** ,” Damien snapped. She heard the bed linens crumple as he gripped at them.

 

The harshness of his voice dragged Thea out of her memories. “What?” both her expression and her voice were dazed and confused. She was glad for his intervention, but did not understand why he was reacting so intensely to it.

 

“Stop remembering that,” he said, expanding on his initial request. “It’s…”

 

“Uncomfortable for you?” she asked, offering a mirthless chuckle as she finally was able to remove herself from her memories completely. She was going to provide more snark, but he cut her off before she could begin.

 

“In more ways than you can imagine.”

 

Thea’s mind jumped into overdrive. _Why was that difficult for him? Could he possibly care that much for me?_ Several more questions came to mind, but as he fidgeted, another possibility appeared. _Was it… his mother? They could both read minds. Was she hurt_ —

 

Damien stopped fidgeting and stood abruptly causing Thea’s head to snap towards him. “I should leave you to sleep,” he said, the comment sounding more like an instruction than a statement. He turned to offer her a smile, small and pained from what Thea could read of it. His hand started to move from his side, but he pulled it back before it got above his waist. “Good night, Thea,” he said.

 

The moment she nodded, he headed to the door. His exit was quick, unceremonious and honestly left Thea a bit startled. He’d been so calm and nice… she must have drug up some bad memories for him, too. As the door closed with a definitive _click_ , Thea sighed and looked around the room. She was going to have to sleep here: nestled in the epitome of her mother’s tastes and life. It was a nightmare, but at least Thea wouldn’t have Julianna reminding her of how a lady holds herself even as she slept.

 

She slipped off of the bed and turned back around to drag the heavy comforter off the bed. She wouldn’t need that. It was summer and she had always run hotter than her mother ever did. The second layer surprised her, a fluffy white blanket that Thea immediately ran her hand over to feel. It was like petting a well-groomed long-haired animal. A small smile parted her lips as she snorted in amusement. “So we **were** actually alike,” Thea noted aloud. “...in some ways.” She briefly wondered just how many other things they’d had in common that Julianna had kept hidden to seem more normal, more perfect. A soft _tch_ fell from her lips as she glared at the bed. She could have showed her. Given her something to allow her to be herself. Anything uniquely hers to grasp in the torrent of ‘you must be perfect’ that she’d grown up in. Instead it had been dolls she didn’t even like, dancing lessons she didn’t want and piano sessions that left her fingers sore. Thea had tried to enjoy it, find something she liked, but the closest she’d come was the music. She’d wait until her mother was asleep to play pieces that were more modern or even her own little meanderings across the keys. Music had helped her cope in her darkest days. It wasn’t the only thing, but it was the one thing that she’d kept close to her from her formative years.

 

Focusing on that one good song she’d heard recently instead of the slapping of skin— Thea growled at herself. Her mind was running back headlong into memories she didn’t want to remember. Why? She couldn’t answer herself and instead refocused on her evening routine. _Contacts_ , she reminded herself. Thea rustled around in her duffle bag and pulled out a white contact case with the latest half-used bottle of heavily filtered water.

 

She paused as she entered the master bathroom, impressed by the lavish nature of the room. “For once, I’m okay with this rich people stuff…” she muttered under her breath, wandering over to the large corner tub. “It even has jets! The hell…” She glanced over to the shower, beautiful sea green tiling interspersed with silver and grey along its walls were a stark but not untenable departure from the light blue that the walls in this room held as well. There were several faucet heads on the walls, which was new to her, and a wide seat to sit on. “Damn… alright, Mom. This is some cool shit.” She loved long baths and showers and treasured the time she spent in pools or the ocean. Being underwater brought a kind of peace that she couldn’t get anywhere else. This master bath would be a perfect place to indulge in that when she was stressed out. The thought crossed her mind to start running a bath, but she pushed it away. She needed to sleep.

 

First, though, her contacts. She chuckled at how easily she’d been distracted. Thea put the case on the white marble sink, looking forward to being rid of her itchy lenses but not to the process of taking them out. The screw caps came off easily and she hoped that her finger booping into her eyeballs went as smoothly. Extraction went without a hitch, though her eyes itched even worse when she removed the lenses. She should have told Crystal about them last night, she realized she must have slept in them last night. _Bad move_. Thea sighed and dutifully rinsed each contact out before placing them in their cleaning solution case.

 

She wandered out of the bathroom and zipped open her suitcase to find her glasses. Hopefully they were still okay. The simple grey frames were sitting neatly inside a small zipper pocket. The innkeeper exhaled in relief when she found they weren’t even scratched from the journey as she put them on. _At least some parts of my life are still going smoothly_ , she thought, a quiet laugh escaping her lips. A quick trip back into the reaches of the suitcase and she brought out her toothbrush and toothpaste. The latter was just down to the last roll under so she’d have to look at buying more soon. Brushing her teeth barely took any time at all and she briefly felt guilty for spitting in a sink as pretty as the master bath’s was. But it was her bathroom now, so she could do what she liked and certainly what she needed to.

 

Thea stripped off her black and grey T-shirt and slipped off her jeans before crawling under the fluffy blanket. She was thrilled to find it was just as tactile on the underside as she wriggled about a little more to shuffle off her bra and toss that down on the chaise as well. She took off her glasses and laid them on the end-table beside her before rolling over and curling up to sleep. Thea hoped that she would be tired enough from having fed all the incubi to simply drift off.

 

~*~

 

Damien had wandered back down the stairs far slower than he’d removed himself from Thea’s room. It wasn’t that he’d wanted to leave, but that he couldn’t take listening to her memories. They were too similar to his mother’s. Not as violent or painful perhaps, but just as terrifying and violating to her. Where the Demon Lord had been outright sadistic, this ‘Keith’ had been quietly dominating. He listened to her thoughts as he left, finding her reminding herself of another part of her past where she’d been told to be perfect. Damien assumed that had been her mother, considering how little she’d wanted to talk about her previously. How such a headstrong, independent woman had emerged from all that was a mystery that very much intrigued the bastard son. He was reminded of what she said, _maybe one day_. The idea made him smile a bit. They’d have time, wouldn’t they? Who knows how long it would take for them to truly understand this world well enough to be able to go off on their own?

 

His own questions came to a halt as he exited the spiral staircase, as James was standing stiffly by the large lounger. “James?” he called. His brother seemed very out of sorts and he could see his aura flickering between emotions. He listened carefully, pushing aside the whispers from everyone else to focus on his eldest brother.

 

_—have stopped. How didn’t I see that she was uncomfortable? Even with the enthrallment, she…_

 

“Thea isn’t mad at you,” Damien said, approaching his brother carefully.

 

“Even if she isn’t, she should be,” James replied, gripping the edge of the plush furniture.

 

“It isn’t for you to decide how she feels,” the redhead reminded him quietly, stopping several paces behind his brother. He wanted to reach out, comfort him, but he knew when James was like this it wasn’t the best of ideas.

 

The eldest stayed quiet for several long moments, finally just releasing a heavy sigh and removing his grip before turning to Damien. “Let’s just make sure our brothers don’t wake her, hm?”

 

Damien smiled, glad to see that he was at least pushing aside the guilt for the time being. “She said 6 hours.... We probably should have asked exactly how to tell how many hours have passed…”

 

“We’ll at least be able to tell when it’s dawn,” James replied, gesturing for his brother to follow as they made their way out of the living area. He paused once they were both in the dining hall in order to turn and close the door quietly.

 

“Don’t tell me we’re gonna have to be stupidly quiet until we see the sun come up,” Sam grumbled. He’d apparently finished updating his glamor spell, now wearing an odd necklace with tiny silver beads and the pendant for which was two thin pieces of metal. Damien determined he’d have to ask Thea what that was the next day. Sam’s jacket now had white and green on it and was much shorter than he remembered seeing before, ending just above his waist, and no longer had sleeves. Neither did his shirt, apparently, but it too had been adjusted to green.

 

 _We really are so attached to our power colors_ … Damien thought to himself, a small smile parting his lips for a moment at the realization. Even though they were in the human world now, they could still keep some of their preferences without being too obvious. For now, though, he turned his thoughts to the present. “Just so,” Damien told Sam. “Thea will really need her rest, since she fed all of us today.”

 

Each of the brothers looked a bit guilty at that reminder, even Damien himself.

 

“For the time being, let’s finish up what she showed us before,” James suggested.

 

“You’re the only one that hasn’t really settled on an outfit,” Erik informed him, now sporting a well-tailored coral vest with gold buttons that cut dramatically both in front and at the base to give off a suit-like visual. His T-shirt had been replaced with a three-quarter length sleeved crimson shirt and his jeans were replaced with a pair of slim black slacks. His shoes were simple black loafers but, like James’, were shined to perfection. “While you were getting fed, we were happily sorting through the pictures. It was quite the adventure.”

 

Damien and Matthew exchanged glances, both smiling slightly and Matthew chuckling at the memory. “Some of us more adventurous than others…” Matthew mused. He’d updated his wardrobe, but only enough to change out the plain T-shirt with a light blue shirt that had an extended collar and cartoonish skull design in white placed across the front. His hoodie was also updated to a kind of khaki color and his jeans were several shades darker.

 

“And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?” Erik asked, quirking a brow at his younger brother.

 

“Just that you have weird tastes.”

 

The coppery haired incubus sputtered. “Well, we’ll see what our dear Thea thinks about my outfit in the morning. I highly doubt you’ll be laughing then. You picked such a loose fitting garment, that… what did she call it…?”

 

“A hoodie. And it’s super comfy,” Matthew waved his hand at Erik’s clothes. “Which yours can’t possibly be. I can practically see your hip bones.”

 

“It’s called proper tailoring,” Erik replied sharply. “And it looks quite nice.”

 

“Whatever you say…”

 

“Well, I still need to take a closer look,” Damien offered. He’d only changed his T-shirt into a button down shirt before he’d been distracted by Thea’s thoughts. “Erik was the one searching for things, since he can read and write properly…”

 

James gave his brother a look that could only be construed as pity. “We need to start working on that for you,” he said, gesturing for his youngest brother to follow. He glanced over at the other three brothers, catching Erik’s gaze for a moment.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep them in line long enough for you to get settled,” Erik assured him, a smirk parting his lips.

 

The eldest nodded, glad he could lean a little bit on his first brother to keep things quiet. They didn’t need to be interrupting Thea’s sleep. Especially not with how they’d arrived here, fed from her and altered the direction of her life. “I’ll need to set aside time to help you learn to read,” he said, his attention once again on his youngest brother. “We’ll have the time here and I’m certain they have books.”

 

The redhead ignored his brother’s expression, as it was an all too common one for him to see, but perked up at the idea that he’d be taught to read. “You never had time back home, but, here…”

 

James nodded, offering a small smile as they entered the office. “Here I don’t have to answer to Father. None of us will.”

 

Damien’s eyes widened at the prospect. It had been part of what drew him to the idea of the human world, but hearing it come out of James’ mouth as a thing that would happen just made it officially real. He all but jumped forward, hugging his brother tightly.

 

The eldest hadn’t been expecting that, but wrapped his arms about Damien’s shoulders, one hand patting his hair affectionately. “It will be alright now,” he said. After a few moments he moved his hands to push Damien back at the shoulders so he could look him in the eyes. “Just don’t overwhelm Miss Thea with all your questions at once tomorrow, hm?”

 

The redhead smiled, wiping at the corner of his eyes to keep the sheen that had been developing from actually becoming tears. “I won’t.”

 

“Let’s set our outfits, shall we?” James offered, taking up the office chair to face the ‘laptop’. He remembered how Thea had tapped the center of the base to make a white thing move on the screen. It took him a few minutes to get used to drawing his fingertip across a defined space to get to a particular area, but it made sense after a while.

 

Damien had liked the color of Erik’s shirt, but when he adjusted a twill jacket to match that he frowned and James had to bite back a laugh.

 

“I-It’s not **that** bad…!” Damien grumbled.

 

“I’m sorry,” James said, clearing his throat to cut off the reaction. He couldn’t quite fight down the smile, however. “It just doesn’t work well with your skin.”

 

They found a handful of models that had similar skin tones and soon he had adjusted his twill jacket to a bright tan and his shirt to a black. He’d wanted to mimic the others by going with his power color, but he didn’t like how it looked. Eventually, he settled on a similar crimson to Erik’s shirt. He adjusted his jeans to white, though not without concerning James.

 

“They’ll show stains easily,” he noted. “Are you sure you don’t want another color?”

 

“I can just clear them by adjusting the glamor spell,” Damien insisted. “Thea feeds us. I can actually use magic regularly now without worry, remember?”

 

The eldest blinked, expression stuck for a moment in shock before he relaxed and chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

 

“Your turn~” Damien insisted.

 

James went back to the search page, sorting through ‘princely’ outfits. He didn’t much care for what came up, as they seemed a bit too much. He adjusted the search to the word Thea had used instead, ‘fancy’. Some of those were even over the top, but he found he liked the idea of having a thin piece of fabric about his collar that accentuated the center of his body. The symmetric style was attractive. Yet, as he kept looking, he found asymmetrical jackets caught his attention. He wanted to have something that indicated his power color, like his other brothers, but found he didn’t care for how yellow looked on him. Even trying on dark yellow or light brown pants didn’t quite work. In the end, he opted for red trimmed grey asymmetrical jacket with a red tie and white shirt. The jacket he’d found to mimic was a bit odd in comparison to the others he’d seen, but he liked how the close-fitting adjustable fabric that hugged his forearms felt like vambraces. In a way, it felt like proper armor and he liked the idea. His pants adjusted back to their former black and he left his shined loafers on.

 

“Good enough,” James sighed.

 

“What about those?” Damien asked, tapping the screen of the laptop. “You were looking at them on several of the pictures.”

 

James quirked a brow, returning his attention to the pictures. He was apparently referencing the facial accessory that some of the men had which framed their eyes. It was an interesting option, he had thought, but left it alone. He wasn’t sure what purpose they served and they weren’t necessary—

 

“But you like them,” Damien interjected, offering a small smile. “If they aren’t something you should be wearing, Thea will tell you in the morning.”

 

After a few moments of internal debate, James nodded and closed his eyes. The framing accessories appeared on his face within seconds and he furrowed his brows at how the world was now framed before him. It wasn’t a bad thing, just...new.

 

“Like everything is now,” Damien noted with a chuckle. “They look good on you, actually.”

 

“You think?” the eldest asked, tilting his head back and forth to try and get used to the visual they presented him.

 

The redhead merely nodded, a small smile at his lips for the moment.

 

Both of thier attentions were drawn to the second floor as they heard a massive _thump_ against the wall. “What in the world?” James asked. It was clearly a rhetorical question, but Damien was looking for the answer already.

 

“Matthew and Sam are fighting over…” he scrunched up his nose, trying to concentrate. “A chair? That moves?”

 

“A chair that moves?” James echoed.

 

Another hearty _thump_ had them hurrying out of the office and up the stairs in the dining room. “What is going on out here?!” he snapped the moment he opened the door to the deck.

 

Erik was massaging his temples, apparently having given up trying to keep the other two from fighting. Sam and Matthew were both on a large chair that was apparently suspended from the ceiling by chains. The chair kept smacking the brick wall as they swung back. Sam was holding out his legs to touch the railing whenever they came forward and Matthew was trying to get a hold of the railing each time they did in order to slow them down. “They found this piece of furniture that moves and couldn't decide on how fast it should move,” he informed them with an almost dramatic sigh.

 

“Faster, pipsqueak! This is clearly a toy, you’re meant to have fun!”

 

“But it keeps hitting the wall, Sam!” Matthew whined, trying to keep the wooden back of the suspended dual chair from smacking once again on the brick wall by holding out his arms as they came close. He had already scraped up his hands a bit.

 

“Did we not just have a discussion about needing to be quiet, Sam?” James reminded his brother.

 

“Yeah, but we’re practically on the other side of the building! If that human can hear this, she’d be impressive.”

 

Damien was quiet, trying to see if Thea’s mind was active. He hadn’t heard much from her while they were in the office and now he couldn’t hear anything. “I don’t think the noise has reached her,” he finally said.

 

“You really shouldn’t be trying to make so much noise,” James chided. “Especially since we already made quite the wrong impression with your little metal bending stunt at the gate.”

 

Sam scoffed, expression nothing less than a pout as he stared at his brother, but he finally put his legs down and stopped pushing off the railing.

 

Matthew took the opportunity immediately, grasping the railing the next time they came up and gently releasing them so that this time they wouldn’t hit the wall. “That’s better!” he chirped, leaning back with a satisfied smile on his face. “See? It doesn’t have to be fast to be fun.”

 

“Pfft. Now it’s just boring,” Sam sighed. He stayed on for two more pendulous movements before hopping off. “You can have this kiddy thing.”

 

“I’d like to try…” Damien said, approaching the cushioned bench and watching the movement with restrained awe.

 

“Welcome aboard!” Matthew greeted him with a grin, putting his tiptoes on the ground to stop moving so Damien could get on. Once he was settled, he pushed off. Damien put his legs up a bit and soon figured out, partially with the help of Matthew’s thoughts, that you could pull your legs in when you went backwards and put them back out when you went towards the railing to keep the speed up. Once he was tapping the railing with his feet, however, he stopped for a bit to avoid them hitting the wall again. “This is… actually quite relaxing…” Damien noted, leaning his head back and letting his eyes close.

 

James had watched the two pensively, not really sure what to make of this odd piece of furniture. It was interesting, but there was so much here he didn’t yet know that he wanted to be informed of the reasons for first before experiencing them. Still, he relaxed a bit as Damien closed his eyes. It was a rare sight for the youngest to put down his guard, even with all his brothers nearby. The peaceful expression on his face made James’s heart warm. This world would be so good for Damien, he just knew it.

 

“James, come look at this,” Erik requested, turning his head. He’d gone over to the railing and was watching the sky. “The night sky has lights…”

 

They had all noted the difference in the sky the moment they’d stepped outside back in Chicago, being that it was a bright blue instead of purple, but this was a change even from that. There were spots of light, bright white, dotting the sky. Some were larger than others and a few were brighter than the rest. It was interesting. “Yet another thing we’ll have to ask Thea about,” James said quietly.

 

Erik quirked a brow, a small smirk appearing on his lips as he watched his brother. “You called her by her name alone,” he noted.

 

“So did you, earlier,” James replied, though one hand came up to slip beneath his arm in a gesture the other brother knew was due to nerves.

 

“Shall we just agree that we both like our hostess?” Erik suggested, though his smirk hadn’t gone anywhere.

 

James didn’t answer for a few moments, narrowing his eyes as he continued to examine the sky. “We should all like her, Erik,” he finally said. “She’s been very gracious to us and it is only our first day here.”

 

Erik was about to tease his brother a bit more when both their attentions were drawn to a sudden scrabbling sound on the edge of the roof.

 

“Sam!” James yelled, finding the figure the noise was coming from immediately. “Get off there!”

 

The middle brother glared at him, flipping himself up onto the shingles of the roof via his grip on the drainage pipe. “I’ll be fine, ya worrywart!”

 

“It’s not you I’m worried about,” James admitted. “Don’t damage Miss Thea’s roof! We’ve already got to find a way to repair that damned gate. Don’t give us anything else to pay for.”

 

“Yeah, yeah…” Sam muttered in reply. “Man, this roof is sli—-” he had only just started to comment on the state of his perch when he yelled. A few moments of scrabbling sounds later and Sam came flying off the roof. He landed in the mulch two stories down with a belted out, “oof!”

 

James, Erik and Damien all rushed to the railing to lean over and make sure Sam was alright. The brunet just groaned on the ground.

 

Erik looked to Damien. “He’s alright, isn’t he?”

 

Damien nodded. “Yes… but he thinks it’ll hurt in the morning.”

 

Matthew snickered and remained in his seat. “Serves you right for climbing around like some animal…”

 

“Say that to my face, Matthew!” Sam called, pushing himself up from the ground as if the comment alone had given him a second wind. “I’ll be up to put you back in your place before—”

 

“Before what?” Matthew taunted, reaching into his hoodie pocket. His hand and arm glowed blue for a moment and when he withdrew them he produced a long knife. “Oooh…. These pockets are handy!” he purred, grinning. His attention was quickly drawn back to Sam as he could hear him coming up the outside stairwell. “Come on, brother, I’m waiting~”

 

James sighed heavily and Erik rolled his eyes at the exchange. Damien got out of the way as Sam all but tackled Matthew and they rolled around on the ground fighting for control of Matthew’s knife. This wasn’t anything new for any of them. Still, James didn’t like it.

 

“Alright, enough you two,” the eldest snapped, walking over to the writhing mass of arms and legs. He deftly plucked the knife out of Matthew’s grip. “And Matthew, you really shouldn’t be summoning knives unless it’s a real fight.”

 

“Any fight with me is a real fight,” Sam snorted, pinning Matthew down by his forearms with a triumphant grin as he straddled his brother’s stomach.

 

“Hey!” Matthew whined, struggling against his brother’s grip. “No fair—”

 

“Sam. Get off him,” James ordered, arms firmly crossed along his chest. He wasn’t having any of this.

 

The brunet stared at his older brother, pursing his lips. After he didn’t get any reprieve, he groaned and released Matthew. “Fine. **Fine** ….” Matthew wouldn’t get backup from anyone but Damien usually, but if Sam picked a fight with James? That’d bring everyone against him and even Sam wasn’t that strong.

 

The moment Sam got off him Matthew popped up and grabbed the knife from James. “Thanks~” he said, stuffing the weapon back in his pocket. For only a brief moment did it appear to poke into the edge of his hoodie pocket before a light hum filled the air and soft blue glowed around the pocket.

 

“You really need to conserve energy,” James reminded him. “Our hostess doesn’t need to be drained to exhaustion every day just because we are used to using magic.”

 

“Speaking of which…” Damien began, not quite sure how to bring up this topic.

 

James stiffened. That’s right. He probably should tell the rest of them what happened. Still, he wasn’t certain how to. He’d always been the example for them… or at least tried to be.

 

“We need to stop using enthrallment on Thea,” the youngest sighed.

 

Erik merely shrugged at the news, unperturbed. “I didn’t need to~” A small smirk parted his lips as he continued in a purr. “I’ll just continue to please our princess without it.”

 

Matthew and Sam glared at him, clearly trying to not say they were jealous but exuding it regardless.

 

“She’s… in the past she’s had bad experiences with men and sex,” Damien tried to explain without actually saying the things he’d heard. “So, just be gentle as you can about it when you feed. And no enthrallment.” He repeated the last bit just to reinforce it.

 

Sam gave a sharp _tsk_ , but didn’t actually say he wouldn’t do it.

 

Matthew looked upset by the news. “Is she okay?” he asked, clearly talking to Damien.

 

“It’s not fresh to her anymore,” the redhead replied. “But it’s still a sore wound.”

 

“Life has a funny way about it, huh?” Matthew mused. “She’s got problems with sex and she gets all of us dropped into her life. Demons that need to feed off lust and pleasure…” He chuckled, but it was nervous and mirthless.

 

James swallowed, shifting slightly on his feet. It still made guilt pool in his gut when he remembered how he’d just ignored her hesitation. It was true that they could force her to give them energy, that enthrallment could make her a willing participant even if she might not have otherwise. He had used that against her even before she understood how it worked. It wasn’t right. He was normally so tightly controlled. With her, it slipped and he hated himself for it. It wouldn’t happen again, he swore to himself.

 

“It’ll be some time before the sun rises,” Erik mused, gaze shifting to the light-dotted sky again. “Perhaps we should familiarize ourselves with the grounds?”

 

The brothers nodded amongst themselves. Damien wandered off downstairs on his own. James and Erik decided to map out the decking and get a better feel for the building first. Matthew attempted to follow Sam as he got back up on the roof but ended up leaning over the railing with a whine and quickly decided to find Damien once he found himself alone.


	8. How to Explain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not really any action in this one, guys, sorry! But hopefully the bit of drama will be nice nonetheless. :"3  
> Thank you all for being patient and waiting for updates! I promise I am still updating this and have a ton more ideas to keep going. <3

It was weird to not wake up to an alarm, but Thea had a feeling she was up around her normal 7:30 deadline. She grumbled to herself, leaning up just enough to drag her phone off the nightstand and tip it so it would light up.  _ 7:58 _ , it read. Her brow quirked a bit and she let herself yawn as she reached over again to grab her glasses. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about being late for anything just yet…” she mused to herself as she pushed the frames on to her face.

 

As she made her way over to her open suitcase on the chaise a new noise tickled her ears. It sounded like humming and, for a brief moment, she thought maybe there was a bug in the room. A quick look around and a few moments of listening proved the assumption wrong. The noise didn’t flit in and out of her hearing range, but rather flirted with the very bottom of it. When she didn’t see any electronics on, she wandered over to a vent in the ceiling to test it. There was air, so she decided it just must be the sound of the AC running.  _ It’s a new place. I just don’t know the sounds yet. _ There was nothing else to pin it on, so she just shrugged and filed the previously out of place noise into the theoretical ‘background noise’ folder in her head.

 

When she realized she’d headed to the bathroom and reached for her contact case out of habit, she paused. There was no real need to wear them, was there? Her simple grey frames weren’t going to get in the way and she certainly didn’t have anyone to impress. If anything, she needed to  **not** be attractive considering her current predicament. The memories washed over her and she leaned over the sink with a heavy sigh. She was hosting five incubi. In her new house...that would soon be her new business. And everything about that situation was because of her mother.  _ A blessing  _ **_and_ ** _ a curse, how like you _ … Thea mused in her head.  _ Nothing is free _ , she was reminded by a memory in her mind of a piece of oft-quoted literature by her mother.

 

After staring at the drain for a few long moments, Thea finally just shook her head. At the very least she needed to get dressed and get some food. A small part of her wanted to go all out and just wander around in a T-shirt and sweatpants, but she decided to at least put on a bra with her shirt and proper pair of jeans so she could leave for the store without having to wander back up the weird spiral staircase. She peeled off her socks and rustled through her suitcase until she found some flip flops to put on before letting them drop to the floor and slipping into them. 

 

“May as well see how they’re fairing…” she sighed aloud to herself as she wandered over to the door. “I have a feeling they didn’t try and sleep, but I don’t smell smoke and don’t hear screaming so… I guess it’s fine.” The sad part was that she wasn’t certain if she was joking.

 

As she descended the stairs, she yawned and wondered just why she was still tired. The lack of noise from the rest of the house drew her attention away and was quickly starting to worry her. “Guys?” she called. Thea didn’t even know if they had gone to the rooms that they’d said they could have or just how far her voice would carry in this house.

 

“Out here, Miss.”

 

Thea furrowed her brows. It was James, she recognized the voice, but he seemed off. “What’s going—” she started, her question stopped short in her throat by the scene presented to her in the great room.

 

All the boys were sitting at the table they’d pulled together the day before, though Sam and Damien were sitting  **on** it and looked angry and concerned, respectively, as they stared at something or someone. James looked as if he were about to say something, but a voice cut him off.

 

“Thea!” a woman sighed, her voice instantly recognizable to Thea as Crystal. “You could’ve told me you’d have visitors.”

 

The innkeeper stiffened as she turned on her heel to stare at her friend. She wasn’t prepared for this. What was she going to say? What  **was** there to say?! Why had she come back so quickly?! Why didn’t she  **call** ?! “Well...uhm… yeah…. About that…” she tried to stammer through long enough that something would come to mind.

 

She pushed her feelings down for long enough to put on as large a fake smile as she could muster and look pointedly at James. “I don’t want to go over anything you’ve already said…”

 

“We only told her that we arrived yesterday evening, Miss Thea,” he responded, offering a nod that was barely perceptible. “And that you’d be up soon so it’d be best to wait for you.”

 

“And what’s the deal with him calling you ‘Miss’?” Crystal asked, her loose curls bouncing slight as she tilted her head a bit and looked at her friend.

 

Thea shrugged as she turned her gaze back to Crystal. “It’s just what he feels comfortable with.” She paused and gestured loosely to Erik, “Erik over there calls me ‘princess’, which I’ll never understand but that’s what he wants to do.”

 

“If you give me the time, I can convince you~” Erik offered, a small and playful smile at his lips as he spoke.

 

Thea cleared her throat and shook her head. “Anyway,” she continued and refocused her entire attention on Crystal. “You know that Keith was…. Persistent. And I left him.” She was stalling and hopefully Crystal wouldn’t be able to tell.

 

“Right…” Crystal quirked a brow, eyes glancing about at the boys for a moment even as Thea spoke as if she were expecting them to contradict her.

 

“Well, one of the places I sought some refuge from was a…” she paused before adding, “I’m not sure how to properly describe it…” Thea pursed her lips for a moment before finally nodding. “It’s basically like the Amish out west. Somewhere in Arizona when I met them but they pick up and move. I made friends with these guys, all brothers, while I was there and promised that if I ever found a good place for them to go to I’d tell them. So, I told them about the inn even before I left to come.”

 

“And you didn’t mention them to me yesterday because…?”

 

“Because I didn’t know you’d come back so quick,” Thea replied. “I mean, didn’t you say you had a shift starting today?”

 

“Tomorrow. 24 hour rotation.” She was still glancing around at the brothers, but they blessedly said nothing. “But… brothers? They don’t look alike.”

 

“Different mothers,” Sam grumbled at her.

 

“Right…” Crystal said again, drawing the syllables out as one would do when incredulous. After a moment she giggled, a small smile on her lips as she looked to Thea. “Brings a whole new meaning to ‘brothers from another mother’, eh?”

 

“Yeah,” Thea replied with a nervous chuckle. She’d said the exact same thing to K when she’d met the boys. “But anyway, since they’re from a group that doesn’t use electricity and stuff… they’re pretty behind the times. So, forgive them for that. They’re good people, though—”

 

Crystal’s eyes widened and she gasped. “You’re going to use them for workers here, aren’t you?!”

 

Thea grinned, some of her nerves finally slipping away. She felt bad for having to lie to her friend, but it was working at least. “Exactly.”

 

“Then why did you offer me a job, though?”

 

“‘Cause I’d wanna work with you, too,” Thea replied with a dramatic wink.

 

“Well, hey, with guys like this around… I might not need to be paid more than minimum wage. The eye candy’s worth a lot~”

 

“Aren’t you in a relationship?”

 

Crystal gave Thea an incredulous glare before she rolled her eyes. “Open relationship, thank you very much. And they know that I will take up chances when they come up. Besides, as long as I know I’m clean and not preggers, what does it matter?”

 

Thea sighed. “So you haven’t changed since high school, aside from getting a full time job?”

 

Her friend waved her hand dismissively. “I know my way around a lot more now. And besides, you’ve got no high horse to judge from. You haven’t changed either, aside from droppin’ Keith.”

 

“I’d beg to differ, but I suppose you’ll find out if you keep droppin’ by unannounced like this…”

 

“I did call. Like 5 times. And a couple more when I couldn’t get the door open.”

 

“No you didn’t….” Thea said, pulling out her phone and unlocking it. It asked for her password and took some time to boot up. “Oh. Well maybe it was off…?” That wasn’t quite right. It’d given her the time earlier, hadn’t it? There were so many things that didn’t make sense at the moment that she simply filed that away for another time.

 

“By the way, what’s up with the gate?”

 

“Oh. That.” Thea sighed heavily and put a hand to her head to massage her temple. “Well, that’s what happens when you try and drive after not being taught. I’m shocked they made it all this way, honestly.”

 

“We hitch hiked some of it,” James offered.

 

Thea turned to look at him, confused.  _ Where did he learn about that? _ She was grateful for however he learned it, though, since it was good filler for the conversation.

 

“Well, you would get picked up and be safer ‘cause ladies would stop in a heartbeat for you~” Crystal winked at Sam in particular and he just gave a soft ‘tsk’ and turned his head. Crystal smiled as it was made plain he was blushing lightly due to the attention.

 

“So… was there a reason you came back? Or was it just to say hi?” Thea asked, eager to change the topic from the boys until she got comfortable and no longer saw a reason to ask.

 

“Oh, no I just wanted to make sure you were adjusting okay.”

 

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Thea replied and then paused for a moment as she realized that wasn’t right. “We’re fine. But I need to go out and get groceries, especially now that they’re here.”

 

“I can imagine~ It’ll be like feeding a small army. Guys eat so much.”

 

Thea chuckled. “You’d be surprised how little they’re used to. But still, we should probably get going.”

 

“Right,” Crystal just nodded at first, but after a moment her eyes widened and glittered before she spoke up again. “You want me to come along? I mean, I’m sure it’d be hard to corral five people. Especially since you’re an only kid. You’re not used to having people to take care of.”

 

“No, no. You should relax. You’ve got a 24 hour shift starting tomorrow. You should be sleeping or something.”

 

“I do those all the time. And 48 hours then 4 days off. It’s normal now.”

 

“Still. Please, just let me adjust to  **them** too before we add you in the mix.”

 

“I’m harder to deal with than guys that you met out west and haven’t seen for a while?” Crystal quirked a brow again, which made Thea swallow. 

 

“We got close before,” Thea replied. “I really appreciate that you want to help, but it’d help more if you’d just be on standby for a bit while I figure things out. That okay?” She gave her friend her best pleading look, hoping that she didn’t see the group as anything other than what she’d presented them as.

 

Crystal pursed her lips for a moment, gaze flicking around to the brothers again before she offered a heavy sigh. “Alright. But do you want me to stick around here? You can’t fit all of them in the car with you.”

 

“They don’t know you yet Crystal. Plus, I think you’ll find that babysitting duty for these guys is...quite a trip.”

 

“I can imagine~”

 

Thea rolled her eyes. “Not like that. Look. They need some time to acclimate to all these cool modern bells and whistles—”

 

“I can bring stuff!” Crystal offered happily. “I should bring pictures from high school too! They’d have a lot to say about your heavy emo phase, I’ll bet.”

 

Thea snorted. “Don’t bring those. Seriously. That’s not helpful.”

 

“Well, what about movies? I have quite the collection!”

 

“Movies?” Matthew piped up.

 

Thea turned to say something but noted that James had already glared at his younger brother and silenced him. She turned back to Crystal. “Maybe. I still haven’t introduced them to TV, so cool it for a bit would you?”

 

“They don’t know about TV?!” Crystal gasped. “They really must’ve been kept under a rock out in the middle of nowhere!”

 

“Yep. Pretty much…” Thea admitted. It wasn’t  **exactly** right, but it was as close as she was going to be able to get to the truth.

 

“What’d they do for fun?” Crystal asked.

 

“Fight,” Sam piped up.

 

“Sam…” James growled in warning.

 

“Well, you all must’ve been good ‘cause y’all don’t have any scars,” Crystal noted.

 

“The best,” Sam agreed.

 

It was Thea’s turn to glare at Sam, though he only glanced at her from the corner of his eye in response. “ **Anyway** . We need to get going. You should too. Go enjoy the day. I’m sure it’s nice out. Weather was calling for 70’s the last time I checked.”

 

“Yeah, it is nice out…” Crystal agreed. She sighed after a moment, making no secret of her disappointment in the situation. “But you’ve gotta tell me when I can come back. And it better be soon. I wanna know  **all** about y’all~”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry. I’ll invite you over when they’re ready to debut. Or, at least, more used to electricity.”

 

Crystal nodded and seemed to be letting it go when her eyes widened again. “Wait, if they’re not used to electricity, have they never been to a grocery store?!”

 

“They had markets. They know the gist,” Thea sighed. “But, yeah. It’ll be interesting.”

 

“Are you  **sure** I can’t go with you?” Crystal asked, clearly trying to turn on the charm this time.

 

Thea wasn’t having it, however, and gave her friend a deadpan look. “Yes. I am certain you should not come with me and, or, us. Maybe another trip.”

 

Crystal’s lips pursed so intensely that Thea thought perhaps they’d dropped into a cartoon. After a few moments of the friends watching each other, Crystal finally relented. “Alright… but you’d better call me soon. Friends don’t keep cool things from each other~”

 

Thea rolled her eyes again. “They’ll be cooler when they know how to operate in the modern era,” she assured her friend.

 

“Well, to be fair, they look better than most guys in our era. If all the guys in that group look like them, I’d happily join~”

 

Thea shook her head. “You’d miss the internet too much.”

 

Crystal sighed. “True. And music....”

 

“We had music and dancing and ballrooms full—” Erik began but he was quickly cut off by James with a sharp uttering of his name.

 

“A band of sorts,” Thea covered. “They were good.”

 

“Ooh! Were the boys in it?”

 

“No. But maybe they’ll learn to play some instruments while they’re here,” Thea offered. “We need to get going, Crystal. I swear I will invite you over as soon as they’re settled. Deal?” Thea offered her friend a hand to shake on the ‘deal’.

 

“You’d better,” Crystal muttered, eying her friend’s hand for a moment before shaking it. There was only a glance to tell Thea something was up before Crystal used their interlocked hand to force her friend to twirl or have her arm twisted weirdly.

 

“You’re so weird, Crys…” Thea sighed, shaking her head even though she had a small smile on her lips as the released their hands.

 

“Maybe, but I’m the cool kinda weird. The kinda weird you can’t help but like~” Crystal winked at Thea who only shook her head again. “I’d better see you all again soon~!” she called as she offered Sam an air kiss and finally began walking off.

 

Thea headed after her, only to make sure the door would open and her friend was gone. The moment that Crystal was no longer in view Thea put her arm down from its polite waving and let out a massive sigh. She leaned against the door as she talked aloud to herself. “Good god this is going to be a lot harder than I thought…”

 

“I assume that was a friend of yours, Miss Thea?” James said, approaching her slowly from his prior place behind his brothers at the table.

 

“Yes, Crystal,” Thea replied, pulling up a hand again to rub at her temple. “I have no idea how I could possibly explain all this to her. And, frankly, —considering how K talked about angels— I don’t think I  **should** explain it to her if I can avoid it.”

 

“She seemed nice enough, though,” Matthew noted with his usual chipper smile.

 

“She is. Just… be careful not to say or do anything that’s magical or whatever around her. No enthrallment,” she paused as she looked pointedly at Damien, “or any other powers on her. I barely managed to come up with a decent excuse for you all as it is. I don’t think I could come up with a better one for y’all being able to do spells or whatever.”

 

“Of course,” James said, nodding. “We’re going to be conserving energy as much as possible regardless of secrecy.” He glanced to his brothers and they all nodded, though Sam was clearly reluctant to do so. “It is only fair to you, considering as you’ll be our primary source of energy while we figure out how best to feed inconspicuously.”

 

It was still a weird idea in Thea’s mind, that they fed on emotions. How exactly did that work? She supposed it was akin to how everything that happened in a human body boiled down to electricity or chemical interaction. That’s just a different kind of ‘energy’ and it’s all processed differently. There really wasn’t much point in thinking about it, but she couldn’t help it. Another question came to mind shortly after, though, one that she could get a proper answer to. “Just how did she get in anyway? I swore I locked the front door…”

 

“You did,” James assured her. “But we… went outside from the 2nd floor last night. I was unaware of how these doors are bolted and did not think that trying to block them with furniture was an appropriate alternative.”

 

Thea barked out a laugh at the idea. “Yeah, no. That would’ve been very weird. Thanks for not attempting to barricade me in my own home.” Her gaze shifted upwards as she thought about it further. “Though it’s weird you guys could get back in… normally if you open it from the inside and don’t unlock it you’d have been locked out.” Her brows furrowed a little as she paused, then slowly they relaxed as she continued. “Maybe I unlocked it when Crystal and I toured the place yesterday.”  _ Better go around with the keys before I leave, then _ … she noted in her head.

 

“Perhaps you should show us how?” James suggested.

 

Thea quirked a brow and glanced around at the brothers. “Just how do you lock doors at home?”

 

“Magic, usually,” Damien piped up. 

 

“Just… what, wave a hand and say a few weird words?”

 

“Essentially,” James replied this time. “But there are manual methods of course. Usually metal bolts at the tops of doors or perhaps a wooden plank set in the middle with a holder on the door—”

 

“Do you not know what a key is?” Thea asked, fiddling around in her pockets before finding the keyring and holding it up.

 

“Of course,” James answered. “But locks alone are… well, they are far too easy to break. Unless you have wards protecting them as well. Lockpicking is the first thing a thief would learn and it isn’t too terribly difficult a skill to master.”

 

“You make it sound like you’ve done it yourself.”

 

James stiffened. “Of-Of course not! There’s no need to learn that. Anything I wanted opened, it would be done.”

 

“Even just out of curiosity?”

 

He didn’t respond to that and Thea smiled slightly when she heard Matthew laugh and what sounded like a chuckle from Erik. 

 

“Besides, not all locks are meant to protect,” he added after a few moments, partially changing the subject. “Some are meant to bind and  **those** …” The eldest paused and the gaiety in the room died down as Thea noticed James’s gaze lead to Damien. “Those should always be broken.”

 

She looked to the redhead even as James spoke and he made no secret of his avoidance of her gaze. Thea blinked back tears that threatened to blur her vision. He’d been  **chained up** ? What kind of monster would do that to someone as sweet as Damien? 

 

“Our father,” Damien replied quietly.

 

The rest of the brothers let out audible gasps. Even Sam, who Thea was shocked actually seemed to care.

 

“Well,” Thea began, trying to ground herself again before she lost herself in her own memories of being ‘kept’. “Here you won’t ever have to worry about that again,” she assured him, taking the opportunity to move over to the table and stand in front of Damien. “I won’t let anyone lock you away.” She pushed herself to offer a smile, though she wanted to gather him up in her arms like one might a small, frightened child. Instead, she simply reached out and affectionately ruffled his hair. “That’s a promise.”

 

The incubus seemed entirely uncertain what to do and stared at Thea like a deer would stare into headlights. She searched his eyes as they glimmered with unshed tears, his multicolored irises flickering as they watched her face. Thea expected to see completely justified pain and fear echoing within the various shades of blue and purple. Instead, there was something else behind his stare that defied categorization into words, but she felt it all the same. There was a kinship between them now that overrode their differences as separate species. “Thank you…” he finally managed to croak.

 

Her smile widened and she pulled up the hand that had ruffled his hair to this time grasp his hand. “Come on, then,” she insisted as she offered a soft, reassuring squeeze. “We’ve got some shopping to do.”


	9. A Little Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had thought I'd put these out on a every other week basis, but I guess not. xD
> 
> This time around it's just some domestic fluff-ish stuff with lots of dialogue (as per usual with my writing it seems).

Thea paused on her trip to the door, an idea coming to her as she remembered that she still needed to lock the door. “Hey, Sam,” she started, turning to look at the messy brunet.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Catch,” she simply said after reaching into her pocket and then tossed him the keyring. “Use the blue one to lock the upstairs door y’all went out of.”

 

The incubus caught it with ease but quickly looked from it up to her with an incredulous glare. “I’m not an errand b—”

 

“You can practically teleport,” Thea huffed, clearly thinking nothing of interrupting him. “If you didn’t stand there bitching you’d have already have gotten it done.”

 

Sam opened his mouth to protest but shut it and gritted his teeth for a moment before zipping off.

 

For the short time she’d have before he returned, Thea turned to James and gestured loosely to him to make sure she had his attention. “You’ll ride shotgun ‘cause I’ll probably be teaching you how to drive first.” As much as she didn’t want to let go of Damien’s hand, she was going to have to and that was as good an excuse as any. For the moment she just pulled her phone out and checked that she’d saved the list she’d half-heartedly made the night before after realizing that there was no way she could continue to feed them from the meager stocks that had been left.

 

“Shotgun?” James asked in reply, a brow quirking slightly as he looked at her.

 

“Passenger side,” she clarified, but he still looked a bit confused. “You’ll understand when we get to the car.” That said she stowed her phone away again after confirming the list.

 

Suddenly Thea’s hand was lifted and her keys appeared in her hand. “Thank you, Sam,” she said, finding him looking just as grumpy as when he left. 

 

“Yeah, whatever.” He stood back, leaning against the currently closed office door.

 

Thea was about to move again when Damien spoke up. “He enjoyed it,” the redhead noted, a small smirk at his lips.

 

Thea glanced over at Damien, clearly curious now. “Really? Does he  **like** being ordered around?” she was just teasing Sam now, but it was fun. “‘Cause I’ll happily keep—”

 

“No,” Damien interrupted, shaking his head. “He enjoyed smelling her again. He took his time locking it because the outside glass still held her scent.”

 

Thea tilted her head, her curiosity intensifying. Clearly he wasn’t talking about herself, because he would have said ‘you’. There was only one other female person they’d encountered, aside from K who Thea got the impression was off limits for some reason or another.

 

“Seriously, Damien?” Sam snapped. “I get that you can’t control it, but you didn’t have to  **say** anything.”

 

The redhead merely kept his small, satisfied smirk on his lips as he looked at his elder brother. 

 

“Crystal is our princess’s friend,” Erik noted. “If you were to look at this situation reasonably, you’d see it could be a boon that she knows. Perhaps you should be a bit kinder to Thea and ask what Crystal likes~”

 

The innkeeper was a bit shocked by Erik’s proper use of her name instead of ‘princess’ and tried her best to ignore the slight shiver that ran along her spine. She internally chastised herself for letting his voice get to her again. She was supposed to be taking care of them, not— 

 

Damien leaned into her and quietly murmured, “don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re allowed to like things, you know~”

 

Thea could only sputter, suddenly understanding all too well Sam’s embarrassment at having his secret revealed by Damien now that the tables had turned on her. While she appreciated the youngest brother speaking low enough for only her to hear, he couldn’t have known the effect of his voice so close to her ear. For the time being, she took in a slow breath and released it in just as controlled a manner to gather her thoughts again. She honestly just still wasn’t sure how to feel about  **any** of this. Her position was a complicated one and something she’d have to get used to. There was no manual for dealing with magical creatures… at least not that she knew of.  _ One day at a time _ … she repeated to herself in her head.

 

“I don’t need any help,” Sam retorted with a snort. “She’s attracted to me as it is.”

 

Thea quirked a brow at that assertion but let it go. It was pretty clear, if Thea knew  **anything** about Crystal or just forward women in general, that her friend was interested. Considering how she used to be, she wouldn’t be surprised if they hooked up. “Don’t let it inflate your ego too much, Sam,” she chided. “Crystal has a type, which you happen to fit. Doesn’t seem like she’s changed type much either. Rough bad boys…” Thea shook her head. “I’ll never understand it, but  _ que sera, sera _ …”

 

“Kay Cerah Cerah?” Matthew interjected, mimicking Thea’s head tilt in his own confusion.

 

“A Spanish saying that basically translates to ‘whatever will be, will be’,” she answered him. “I guess it’s just another way of saying ‘it is what it is’.”

 

The explanation only seemed to make Matthew more confused. “But why would you say that? Isn’t it already as it is?”

 

Thea pursed her lips slightly and knitted her brows in thought as she tried to explain it better. “I guess it’s more like a saying that means that it’s just something that won’t change?”

 

“Then why not just say that?”

 

“Because we like making up new ways to say things. Especially in English.”

 

“But you just said that was in Spanish...”

 

“Another language,” Thea clarified. “But… yeah. English often co-opts other language phrases and they typically are twisted interpretations of the original either through poor initial translation or just because we’re sarcastic fucks and like messing with things.”

 

“That sounds… complicated…” Matthew said, his expression leaving no guess as to his emotions of concern. “Glad we already know how to speak it.”

 

“And some of us know how to read it because we deemed it a necessary skill,” James chimed in, a tiny smile at his lips.

 

Matthew gave his eldest brother some serious side eye, but only huffed and crossed his arms instead of actually retorting.

 

“Reading’s boring,” Sam muttered. “And besides, you only learned ‘cause you can know stuff and learn to do stuff that way.”

 

“Seriously!” Matthew whined. “It’s so unfair to try and keep up with you…”    
  


Thea found herself confused. “What are you talking about? Everyone should learn something by reading things. It’s called reading comprehension.”

 

“I can pick up new skills simply by reading about them,” James clarified. “It is one of my inborn abilities.”

 

“Oh. Well, we’d best keep you away from libraries and the internet, then…” Thea mused. “Can’t have you using all your energy to read out of date science texts from the 80’s or shitty opinion pieces.” She chuckled, but found that she was the only one who understood the amusement. The brothers all looked a bit confused and she just shrugged. They’d be here forever if she tried to explain all that to them so she decided to switch gears. “Anyway. Crystal was right that all of you probably won’t fit in my car at once…” she informed them. “Though if you really squish you should theoretically be okay.” She glanced between Matthew and Sam. “Is that going to work? Or am I going to have to leave one or two of you behind?”

 

“Just don’t leave those two alone, Princess,” Erik mused, a small smile at his lips.

 

“Of course not,” she replied. “I’ve seen enough to know better than that.”

 

The coppery-haired incubus merely nodded in deference.

 

“I’ll behave!” Matthew chirped. “I wanna see the grocery store. Different place with electricity and human food~”

 

“I can stay,” Sam said after a few moments of mulling it over.

 

“I don’t know if I want to leave you here by yourself…” Thea admitted. 

 

“I won’t break anything,” he told her, apparently aware enough of her to know what she was worried about. “I’ll just… hang out on the roof or something.”

 

“And pull off more of those ceramic tiles?” Matthew asked, a smirk tugging at his lips.

 

“Quiet, twerp!” Sam growled at his brother. 

 

Thea sighed. She wasn’t at all surprised to find that he’d already damaged the building somehow but at least she had the funds to fix things like that now so she couldn’t be too mad. “If you want to stay, that’s fine. You really better not break anything though.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes, which had her quirking a brow in surprise that that was even a thing where they came from.

 

“Excuse me…” she mused, slipping around him to open the office door. She’d left her knapsack sized backpack on the desk after escorting Crystal around.  _ Who was going to walk in to a place on the side of a mountain? _ She recalled asking herself. Oh how things had changed. At least they hadn’t been curious enough to look into it, since a quick unzip and look around saw her wallet and miscellaneous “going out” stuff she had accumulated over the years was still in the bag.

 

After a moment Thea just shrugged at him and returned her attention to the door. Damien apparently caught her brief questioning thought of how exactly she was going to sort through the new keys on her keyring as well as lock the door while holding his hand and he wriggled out of her grip. She looked over at him with a disappointed glance but let the feeling drop as she realized what she’d been thinking. A quick fiddle with the keys later and she opened one of the two front doors, waited for everyone but Sam to file out and then locked it back. 

 

“Shotgun,” she said, looking over at James as the group approached her Toyota. “Is the front seat on that side.” She pointed to the left as she split from them to get to the driver’s side. “I’m assuming K showed you all how to open the car doors?”

 

Erik chuckled. “We’re not completely without intelligence, Princess,” he chided her gently.

 

“Right,” Thea replied, clearing her throat. She wasn’t trying to be condescending but apparently she had been. “Sorry. I just want to be sure I’m not assuming you know things and not teaching you. That’s my job now, after all, right? Teaching you guys about the human world?”

 

“Of course,” Erik assured her.

 

“And thanks for that!” Matthew piped up, offering Thea a grin when she looked to him.

 

“We’re all still just getting used to this arrangement, Miss,” James reminded her. “No need to apologize when no offense was intended.”

 

“Right…” was all she could think to say. Thea should have been more used to people being understanding and kind, since the friends she’d made after escaping Keith had been nothing if not both of those things. Maybe it was just the looming differences between them that made her feel as if she were needing to walk on eggshells: the magic like their enthrallment and each of their individual abilities were far beyond what she could do. But here she was, a normal human, teaching  **them** because this was the human world and they were so new to it. She pushed those thoughts aside as she used her keys to unlock her door. 

 

“Hey! It won’t open!” she heard Matthew whine as she noticed the car shaking slightly. He was clearly trying to pull it open regardless of it being locked. 

 

“One sec!” Thea called, trailing her fingers down the side of the driver door to find the lock/unlock switch before tapping it into the unlock position several times. The car beeped and she saw James back up from the opposite side of the car out of the corner of her eye. A small smirk appeared at her lips before she could push it back down. “It should be open now!” she informed them all. A quick lean over and she stuffed her bag slightly beneath her seat so it wouldn’t bother any of the brothers but would stay safe during the drive.

 

“Miss K had a device that allowed her to unlock her vehicle from a distance,” James noted to Thea as he slipped inside. “Does this one not allow for that?”

 

“It does,” Thea sighed. “But the battery ran out a while ago and I haven’t had the time or spare cash to get it replaced. Plus, it often ended up setting off the panic alarm whenever I got in so that was annoying.”

 

“Ah, I see,” he said. “That does sound like it could be a problem.” 

 

Thea quirked a brow as she looked at him. “Do you all know what a panic alarm on a car is?”

 

“No,” James admitted. “But that title doesn’t make it sound like a good or pleasant thing.”

 

“It’s an anti-theft measure. The car emits a loud, shrill noise to alert others to an attempt to steal it and that is supposed to deter car thieves.”

 

“The way you talk about it makes it sound as if it’s not effective…”

 

Thea chuckled, pausing as she turned the key in the ignition and made sure the engine started up properly. “It’s mostly just annoying to people now, since a lot of times it just goes off ‘cause of a mistake by the owner. Kinda has become the boy who cried wolf.”

 

“Another turn of phrase?” James inquired.

 

“Oh,” she exhaled. “Yeah. Sorry. I forget how much we say is like that. Uhm… it means that basically there were too many false calls for alarm and so no one believed there was trouble when it was really an issue.” That explained, she turned to look at the backseat that was now stuffed with three other incubi brothers. Matthew was in the center, as she’d expected considering his size. “Did K teach you all about seatbelts?”

 

“Yeah,” Matthew replied, though he didn’t look very enthused by the idea.

 

“They’re important,” Thea insisted, though she turned around to face front. “And I’m  **not** going anywhere until  **all** of you are buckled up.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Erik mused, his tone making it plain he was partially teasing her.

 

Thea had a sneaking suspicion that she would have seen a cheeky wink from the copper haired incubus had she looked. Meanwhile she just glanced over at James as he easily pulled the device over himself and clicked it into place. She heard two more clicks but continued shuffling and muffled whines made her look back. Matthew was having trouble and currently had his hand dug in between the seats. “It’s over your left shoulder,” she informed him, trying to help.

 

Erik looked at the area she’d suggested and grasped the belt for his brother which only earned him an ungrateful grumble from Matthew. This clearly hadn’t been the first time the elder brother was treated that way, as Erik merely smiled.

 

“And the receiver part should be to your right on the seat,” Thea added after Matthew grasped and pulled the belt over himself.

 

“Yeah, I was looking for it!” Matthew muttered. “But it’s not where it’s supposed to be!”

 

Damien watched them for only a moment before tilting slightly and feeling behind him. “That’s… because apparently it was behind me,” he offered after a pause. He pushed the receiver towards his brother with a sheepish smile.

 

“See! I’m not an idiot!” Matthew snapped at the rest of the car. 

 

“No one said you were,” James reminded his brother, already sounding a bit exasperated.

 

“But you were thinkin’ it!”

 

“No we weren’t,” Erik sighed.

 

Thea chuckled. “This is going to be interesting just for that…”

 

“For what?” James asked, though he tensed a bit as Thea began to back up the car. 

 

“Watching you interacting as brothers,” she replied. “Since I didn’t have any.”

“You said last night you had no siblings at all,” James added.

 

“Right,” Thea confirmed with a nod.

 

“Weren’t you lonely?” Matthew asked.

 

“Sometimes,” Thea admitted. “But I made friends and I had plenty of things to do. Games and TV… all sorts of activities.”

 

“That’s right, you were gonna show us that!”

 

“Yeah. I will. When we get back I’ll show you.” Considering how James had reacted to the initial movement, she made sure to go slow even as she went down the hill to the gate. She was pleased to find that they’d apparently moved aside the gate entirely so it wasn’t quite as obvious to anyone coming by. It wasn’t as secure, either, but honestly she wasn’t worried about that at the moment.

 

Without considering if the boys hadn’t yet been introduced to modern methods of music, she pushed the cassette adapter into its slot and tapped a few times on her phone to start a song on her driving playlist.  _ Soldiers _ by  _ OTHERWISE _ began strumming to life in the car. She turned it down from the normal levels just so she didn’t accidentally hurt their ears or something. She didn’t listen to it that loud, but she had no idea how loud the music they were used to was. Hopefully the music would be as calming for them as it was for her.

 

James turned his head to look at the control panel, his expression not one that Thea recognized. “Is this the radio?”

 

“Oh, so K did play music for you all on the way?” Thea asked, partially side-stepping the question. “Good to know it wasn’t silent and boring. It was a long enough trip without it being a drag.”

 

“Yeah! Though it was ‘just the radio’ she said,” Matthew offered from the back. “Not sure what she meant, but your music is interesting.”

 

When Thea glanced back at him in the rear view mirror he was happily bobbing his head along to the song. “Glad you think that way. I like it too. Well, most of it. Some genres… meh.” She shrugged and refocused as she headed down to the main road. “But, yeah, this isn’t the radio. It’s my phone. No random ads on here. Just music. It’s less selection, but better overall.”

 

After the chorus had run through, Erik spoke up.“Isn’t this song a little dark, Princess?”

 

“What do you mean?” she asked in return, glancing back at him in the mirror. She was surprised to find legitimate concern written on his face.

 

“It is about fighting and dying, is it not?”

 

“It’s about solidarity,” Thea answered him. “Keep listening and you’ll understand. It’s one of my favorite songs. We’re all struggling with something. We’re all soldiers in our own way, fighting personal battles and making it through. It’s supposed to be uplifting, but truthful and relateable.”

 

“That’s a really good message,” Damien quietly noted. “I like that view. Solidarity…”

 

Thea smiled to herself, always glad to know that Damien feels good about something. A quick glance over to check on James had her chuckling. “Careful,” she mused at him. “That handrest might get cut if you keep gripping onto it for dear life.”

 

“Oh. Am I…?” James looked down and slowly released his white-knuckle grip on the center console. “I apologize.”

 

“It’s new and probably a little intimidating,” Thea said, nodding. “Don’t worry, though. I’m a good driver. Haven’t ever been in an accident.”

 

“Don’t you know you’re not supposed to say stuff like that?” Matthew asked from the back.

 

“What?” Thea inquired, looking back at him for a moment.

 

“Now you’re gonna have one.”

 

Thea barked out a laugh. “Y’all are superstitious! Good to know. It’ll be fine, Matthew, but thanks for worrying.”

 

“You can’t say I didn’t warn you…”

 

“What, are you going to make me have one?”

 

“Nuh-No!” he gasped. “I mean, we’re in the car too so that’d be bad for us too.”

 

Thea quirked a brow and glanced back at him in the mirror again. “Oh? So you don’t actually care about  **me** , it’s just you and your brothers’ safety that matters?”

 

“Th-that’s not—”

 

“She’s just teasing you, Matthew,” Erik jumped in. “She would stop if you didn’t keep walking into it.”

 

Had she looked, Thea knew she’d find Matthew pouting. He really was childlike and it was adorable. She probably should have felt bad about teasing him, but it wasn’t actually mean so there was no harm in it. For a brief moment she wondered why Damien wasn’t similar, considering he was even younger than Matthew, but then the memories of previous conversations reminded her. He’d been through a lot more. Matthew must have been sheltered by his mother instead of being left on his own. At least Damien had his brothers in the end. Now, he had her, too.

 

Matthew and Damien had commented on a multitude of things as they went: the YMCA, power transformers, even banks and Thea did her best to explain them all. K had apparently explained some things to them, as they didn’t ask about gas stations or churches, but not a whole lot. By the time they got to the store Damien, Matthew and Thea were all singing along to  _ Happy _ by  _ Pharrell Williams _ . Thea hadn’t really thought much about the fact that she sang, but apparently it was nice enough that Erik had complimented her. The cynical side of her brain had supplied that maybe he was just trying to ingratiate himself, but when she seemed surprised by the compliment the rest had agreed. Thea was just relieved that she wasn’t hurting their ears since she really liked to sing along. It would have been hard for her to not do it. She waited until their latest song finished before turning off the engine just so that things felt settled before they headed into the store.

 

Habit took over as she unplugged her phone from the cassette adapter and before stuffing it into her pocket. Once she opened the door and got out of the car she pulled her backpack out from its safe space beneath her seat and slipped the straps over her shoulders. After shutting the door and wandering to the back of the car she opened up the trunk manually before handing a bag that was stuffed with other totes to James. “Hold these, will you please?”

 

“Certainly.” He pulled the tote’s strap up onto his shoulder without any prompting or explanation.

 

James had replied and acted so quickly that Thea thought he had known she was going ask him before she actually did.  _ Or maybe he was going to insist on taking them _ , her mind supplied. Perhaps there was a few good things about them having come from the kind of world they did: namely manners... at least in regards to James. She made sure to shut the trunk before leading the group inside.

 

The boys paused before they got to the double doors, Thea assumed they were looking for handles and she simply walked towards the ‘barrier’. These were automatic doors, she knew.

 

“Miss—”

 

Thea just kept walking and the doors opened from their motion sensors at the top. She let out a quiet laugh as she heard Matthew release an “ooh!” Turning around, she noted all of them looked surprised though the elder two seemed confused as well. 

 

“...how…?”

 

“Motion sensor,” Thea explained. She pointed to the black box above the door.

 

Since they were standing still and she’d gone through the doors they began to close. For a moment she even saw panic in their  eyes and she shook her head with an amused smile on her lips. She gestured for them to come towards her and when they did the doors opened again.

 

“How is this not magic?” Erik asked.

 

“It’s technology,” she replied. “I suppose, in a way, it’s our ‘magic’. It requires energy and does specific tasks. But they’re typically helpful or amusing.”

 

Erik and James still seemed hesitant to cross the threshold, as if they expected this new ‘magic’ to backfire somehow, but Matthew just shrugged and all but ran into the new area. Damien was close behind him, but more interested in taking in their surroundings than running. Eventually, the elder two came around and followed them inside. Matthew and Damien were already busying themselves by looking curiously at the relatively high ceilings and at the criss-crossing pipes and beams that lined it.

 

“Why is all that stuff up there?” Matthew suddenly asked, staring intently at Thea.

 

“Probably the AC stuff.” Thea answered, clearly unconcerned with the staring at this point.

 

“AC?” Damien asked.

 

“The way they keep the store cool or warm, depending on the weather outside.”

 

“More teknology, like your lap-top?” Matthew inquired.

 

“Yup…”

 

Thea just chuckled to herself as they found a case of local ads and newspaper and talked excitedly to each other about what they meant. She refocused on their  **actual** task and picked out the biggest cart she could see. Hopefully they wouldn’t need two, but if they did she could probably send any of them back to get it. Hopefully. “You can put the bags in the cart, James,” she noted to him.

 

For a moment he only shook his head, but as she looked and gestured towards the cart he spoke up to insist. “That would take up space. You said we’d need to buy a fair amount, right? Let me carry them until we need them.”

 

Thea had no idea why he was being stubborn about this, but she could only shrug. “Alright, if that’s what you wanna do…” Her attention was drawn away as Damien and Matthew were now face-planted into the glass of a claw machine. “We’re not playing that!” she told them. “It’s just a scam. You pretty much never win.”

 

“I bet I could win,” Matthew replied, only turning around and leaning against the glass as he looked at Thea with a smirk. “I’m great at games.”

 

“Except when strategy is involved,” Erik noted.

 

“Or patience,” Damien added.

 

Matthew glared at both of them in turn and pursed his lips. “Yeah, well, I have dexterity and moves for days so I don’t need to be patient or strategize!”

 

“Save it for another day, Matthew,” Thea said. “I’ll teach you some other time, when I have a bunch of quarters on me.”

 

“Quarters? You can put rooms in your pockets?! I didn’t know humans had that kind of magic!”

 

“What? No! They’re coins.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Come on, both of you.”

 

Matthew sighed heavily but obeyed and Damien followed shortly after, staying for only a moment as he eyed the stuffed animals. Thea noticed the delay but wasn’t sure she should ask about it so for the time being she left it alone.

 

She lead them through the produce section, picking out fruits and veggies for them all but also making sure she got a little extra for herself of the strawberries, grapes and cantaloupe she liked so much. Matthew and Damien asked questions about almost everything that went into their cart and Erik just looked amused by the whole exchange. James was paying close attention to everything she explained, but apparently decided that his brothers were asking enough questions and didn’t add any of his own. Both James and Erik found the labeling of the aisles amusing when combined with the fact that every item was also labeled. At least, until Thea explained that each thing had to be labeled to tell you the price. Then, suddenly it made sense to them. There was no merchant to tell you the price, so it had to be given a sign.

 

“Isn’t this a bit… impersonal?” Erik asked.

 

Thea gave the copper haired male an incredulous look. “How is it supposed to be personal? We can’t just go to a farmer and buy his stuff. Things don’t work like that. There are cashiers when you check out so there is a little bit of person-to-person interaction.”

 

“I suppose… but how do you trust they are quality?”

 

Thea wasn’t quite sure how to best explain this. The brutal truth was that you were never really assured of that but she didn’t think that’s what he meant. There’s no way they could be sure of that in their world, either. “Think of brands as merchants. Their names tell you the quality— though this isn’t always the case. Sometimes they just mark up their shit to make more money… just like I assume any well-known artisan in your world would.”

 

“Hm. A fair point,” Erik conceded.

 

“A lot of things will probably be really strange to you all for a while. It’s not a bad thing. Just different.”

 

He offered her a small but genuine smile and Thea mirrored it.

 

“Hey, can’t we get this? The picture looks really tasty!” Matthew said, pushing a box in Thea’s face.

 

She leaned back enough to look at it.  _ Lucky Charms _ . Thea snorted derisively, trying her best to muffle the sound by not actually opening her mouth. “No,” she said. “That’s just sugar. We don’t need that. I sure as hell don’t want to see you hyped up on junk food…” The idea of Crystal bringing over bags of candy and twelve-packs of soda ran through her mind and she grimaced. She’d have to remember to tell her friend  **not** to do that regardless of how that would be quite the show of what they used to eat in high school. Thea was glad that there was quite a bit of time until Halloween. Perhaps by that point she could be settled in enough that an out of control Matthew wouldn’t fray her nerves. “If you want something sweet, I promise you that the strawberries we got will be super sweet. We can even sprinkle them with a little bit of sugar, too.”

 

Matthew’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

 

“Yeah. Sure~” She offered him a smile before tilting her head back to the shelves. “Now please put that back.”

 

As he went to do just that, an idea struck her. Damien and Matthew may not be able to read and find the right things, but Erik could. She could send them after things. It seemed a far-fetched idea for a moment, but by the time he was coming back to the cart she had a possible way to make it work. “You said you played games back home, right?” she started, clearly talking to Matthew.

 

“Yeah. All the time. Why?”

 

“I can kind of turn this into a game,” Thea offered.

 

She immediately had his full attention and his eyes never strayed from her face. “Uh-huh? Just how would you do that?”

 

“I send you and Damien out to get items on the list. Whoever comes back first with their item gets a point.”

 

“You’re including me?” Damien asked.

 

Thea was surprised to both hear the surprise in his voice and the shock on his face. “Yeah! It might help you all recognize letters as well as shopping being a good skill to learn.”

 

“But… wouldn’t we need to read?”

 

Thea shook her head. “I’ll send Erik with you.” She paused to glance over at said incubus and, while he seemed surprised at first he nodded in acquiescence. “He can check to be sure you have the right item before you bring it to me.”

 

“And just how will I know it is the right item, Princess?”

 

“I’ll write it down for you,” she answered. As if to prove the point she stopped pushing the cart and put her small backpack in the top portion before digging around in it. Soon enough she pulled out a small post it pad and a well-used pen. At first glance Thea wasn’t even sure it still had any ink in it but after scribbling for a moment she got it to work again.

 

“What do we get if we win?” Matthew asked.

 

Thea paused, not having actually thought about it. Her first reaction was to simply say ‘bragging rights’ but she had a feeling that wouldn’t be enough. “Any one thing you want in the store that can be bought and will fit in the car.” For a brief moment she felt a profound sense of dread at the promise, but then she remembered the briefcase. She’d have enough to pay her credit card bill for all this and whatever monstrosity that Matthew picked if he won. She’d just have to figure out how to set that up without the IRS or the Federal government getting on her ass about it. Boy, that’d be an adventure… one that she’d rather avoid.

 

Both Matthew and Damien’s eyes got wide and they looked at each other with barely-contained excitement. “Deal!” Matthew chirped.

 

“Okay,” Thea began, pulling up her phone to scroll through the list to find something that could be easily identifiable without reading the name of it. She paused and looked up to Erik. “I’ll have to tell you what aisle to look for it on—”

 

“No!” Matthew interrupted, making Thea quirk a brow as she looked at him. “Just give us what it looks like and give him the name. A game’s no fun without challenge!”

 

“Alright…” she relented. “Just remember that you asked for that.”

 

Matthew nodded enthusiastically.

 

“Here we go,” Thea said after having written down each target item with the brother who should be looking for it just above.

 

_ Matthew: _

_ Hamburger Buns _

 

_ Damien: _

_ Honey _

 

Erik looked at the note for a moment with an appraising eye. “Are you sure you want to give Damien that to find? We do have honey at home, you realize…”

 

Thea blinked, realizing that she’d unconsciously favored Damien. That wasn’t fair. She held out her hand and Erik gave the note back. She scribbled out  _ Honey _ and wrote  _ Salmon _ instead.

 

As she handed it back it was Erik’s turn to be a bit confused. “What kind of thing is that?”

 

“A fish,” she explained. “And Matthew’s is a specific type of bread.”

 

He merely offered her a long nod at the new information. “Alright. The game is to begin—”

 

“I have to give them images to work with, first,” Thea interrupted with a chuckle. “It’d be entirely unfair if I don’t at least give them a chance.”

 

They waited for her long enough to show the brothers pictures of what they were looking for in packaging. Matthew ran off the moment it was shown to him and Damien was quick to follow once he stared at the image to commit it to memory. When Erik stayed behind, Thea watched him for a moment before deciding he should be elsewhere. “As much as I enjoy watching you, I think it’d be better if you were standing in the middle of the aisles so your brothers could find you easier.”

 

He quirked a brow at her. “Do I, Princess? They must find you in the end, so why should I be elsewhere?”

 

Thea chuckled and gestured to an open space between the artisan cheeses and frozen meal freezers. “Yes. Please wait there for them so you can be easier to find for assistance.”

 

Erik did his best to look terribly hurt and pitiful, though the expression was so dramatic that she knew he was merely trying to convince her and was not actually offended. “How about I come find you when they bring the items to me and…” she paused, pursing her lips as she thought about what she would be comfortable offering him and what he’d actually want from her. “I’ll give you a cheek kiss and a thank you as well as the new note?”

 

“A  **cheek** kiss?” Erik asked, clearly trying to bargain for more. “Are you certain that’s all you wish to give me?”

 

Thea stared him down. She was already offering him something that was just outside of her comfort zone really, but she’d enjoy his appreciation. “Completely.”

 

“Very well, Princess,” he acquiesced and brought an arm across his chest before offering what looked like an overly dramatic bow to Thea. “I will happily await their appearance, as it will likely mean yours is not far behind~”

 

While Thea chuckled in reply, her cheeks flushed from the compliment. She’d offered him something he wanted… and the idea that she was wanted was still a heart-fluttering concept.

 

“Do take care not to steal too much of her affection, James~” Erik added, having turned around to watch the two as he walked to his assigned space.

 

“Don’t worry, Erik,” he assured his brother. “You’re the only one that would push a woman for her affection.”

 

Erik put a hand over his heart and slung his other arm over his forehead in a dramatic gesture of defeat before turning back around to walk properly.

 

“You have quite the collection of personalities in your brothers,” Thea mused, not actually looking at James even though she was clearly talking to him as she turned to the next aisle.

 

“Indeed I do,” he replied easily. “I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

 

“Even a break?”

 

James actually chuckled to himself at the idea and Thea looked to him with a surprised expression. “Even for a permanent vacation with people serving my every need. My brothers are… terribly precious to me.”

 

“I can see that. In everything you do for them. You’re a great big brother. Like the ideal that people write about; taking care of their younger siblings no matter what.”

 

He offered her a smile at the compliment. “Thank you.”

 

She nodded and the two returned to their comfortable silence as she searched the sides of the aisle for the next item. After she put the chicken rub and steak seasoning in her cart she spoke up again. “You know, now that I’m taking care of you guys,” she started, not sure how to phrase this without coming off poorly. “I’m taking care of  **you** , too, you know. You can relax every once in a while.”

 

James looked at her with an expression she could only interpret as confusion. “Maybe one day,” he said after a few long moments. “But I appreciate the idea that you’d want to take care of me.”

 

They returned to their silence and that was only interrupted as Matthew returned with hamburger buns. She praised him and wrote down a strike for him on the post-it scoreboard before showing him a picture of string cheese. He took back off within a minute and Damien turned the corner just as Matthew did, the former slowing his pace dramatically as his brother shot past him. When Damien carefully put his packages of frozen salmon in the cart he looked defeated and Thea hated seeing him like that. Even if he was trying to manipulate her, she gave in and showed him a bottle of honey with a wink. He shot off after it, clearly confident again, and the change made Thea smile.

 

As promised when she reached the end of the aisle she took a detour over to Erik and placed a peck on both sides of his face as she handed him a new note. He only glanced at it before offering Thea an incredulous look. “You’re too nice to Damien. He is an adult, you realize. Let him play fair.”

 

“Ah, well, it’s a good thing you’re not the arbiter of this game then, isn’t it?”

 

Erik shook his head but gently shooed her and James off. 

 

As they got a fair ways down the aisle, James spoke up again. “You are… so exceedingly kind to my brothers,” he spoke as if he couldn’t even believe what he was saying. “I… thank you for that. So much.”

 

Thea offered him a bright smile after kneeling to get a few boxes of popcorn. If she was going to show them movies, they were going to have the proper experience. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked him. “You all will be helping me out as much, if not more, than I am helping you.”

 

“I would argue that point,” James replied evenly. “But I have a feeling you would never surrender it.”

 

Her bright smile tilted a bit into a cheeky grin. “And you would be correct to assume that. I knew you were the smartest brother.”

 


	10. Groceries and Gossip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moar domestic stuff and dialogue! I made myself laugh a lot while writing this, hopefully you all will enjoy it too.
> 
> I apologize in advance to any Sam fans-- he and Thea will be butting heads a lot in this whole story but she doesn't actually dislike or hate him.

In the end, Matthew won their little game and Thea gave the dissapointed Damien a reassuring hug and hair ruffle. The attention seemed to at least help him feel a bit better, though it also seemed to fluster him for a few moments as well. Matthew picked out a party sized bag of candy. Thea knew she’d regret her offer but she quickly insisted that Matthew would need to share that. After all, she’d stipulated that they could  **get** anything that could fit in the cart but not that he would get all of it. Matthew almost put the bag back in protest, but decided that tasting human sweets was far too enticing to give up regardless of having to share them.

 

By the time they were finished the cart was so full that James and Thea had to treat it as a puzzle to keep things from falling out of it constantly. Erik was actually the one that suggested they get another cart, but Thea rejected the idea, all too happy to show off the puzzle skills that she and James had demonstrated. When they got to the point that they could check out, Thea had to pause and take stock of the check out lines.

 

“What are you waiting for? Aren’t we supposed to go to a merchant?” Erik asked, tilting his head slightly with a concerned expression as he observed Thea.

 

“They’re called cashiers,” Thea corrected him quietly despite not returning his gaze. “And I’m trying to make sure we don’t go in an express lane and that we won’t be holding too many people up…”

 

“Express lane…?” Matthew asked.

 

“Yeah. It’s when you’re making a quick run so you can get out faster. For when you have 12 items or less.”

 

“Well, we certainly don’t qualify for  **that** !” Erik noted with a laugh.

 

“...I see that notice on number 8 and 10.” James said, attempting to help. “You said before that they need to be lit up?”

 

“Yup,” Thea smiled a bit to herself before braving a glance at him. “You really do retain everything I say, don’t you?”

 

“Would you prefer I didn’t?” he asked in return, his tone bordering on playful.

 

Thea chuckled, shaking her head for a moment before returning to her task at hand. As she watched other lines go down, movement caught her eye. Someone was heading to a register. At first Thea thought maybe it was a manager that had been called over but then the light for lane 2 popped on. “C’mon!” she urged, pushing at the cart.

 

“Need some help, princess?” Erik teased her as she gritted her teeth while pushing to get the cart going.

 

“I’ve… got it… thanks!” she huffed back at him.

 

The inertia was hard to deal with, however, and turning was more difficult than she remembered. The cart almost slammed into the dividing half-wall between lanes 3 and 2, only stopping because James and Erik held out their arms to grasp the front of the cart and force it to stop.

 

“What was that about you having it?” Erik chided her again with a soft click of his tongue.

 

“Erik… enough,” James murmured.

 

The redhead simply chuckled and let his verbal teasing drop.

 

Thea sighed heavily, glad for the back up but knowing that Erik did have a point. Thankfully she said nothing about the latter, as she had a feeling the copper haired incubus would all but preen at being told he was right. “Thanks…”

 

The boys helped her re-adjust the cart’s trajectory and they scooted into the line. Thea muttered a long, drawn out ‘excuse me’ under her breath as she pushed past James and Erik and did her best not to think about their close proximity. She immediately began putting items on the belt and was greeted enthusiastically by the attending employee.

 

“I’d’ve asked if you found everything alright, but it seems like you’ve already found just about anything anyone could want!” the cashier, a woman who couldn’t have been past her 40’s all but announced with a good-natured bark of a laugh. Her face barely contained her heavily lipsticked grin as she grasped the items that Thea had dragged onto the conveyor. “Though I suppose four boys would eat you out of house and home so you need all this.”

 

Thea blushed red within seconds, her laugh very nervous but she played along regardless. The lady may not have been meaning the first part to sound as risque as it did.  _ Damn the fact they’re incubi. It’s getting to me in my daily life now! This is just a check out line. Think normal thoughts. Think. Normal. Thoughts. _ She dismissed the small chuckle she heard as her imagination. “There’s one more at home, actually,” Thea replied, an amused grin on her own lips at the thought. Thankfully for her nerves the brothers seemed to be temporarily distracted by scrambling to help Thea put more things on the moving space.

 

“Really, now?  **Five** ? I can only imagine and I don’t want to. I’ve got two teenage boys at home...” her cashier mused, pushing her brunette ponytail over her shoulder so it wouldn’t get in the way as she leaned over a bit to pull items across the scanner. Her brow quirked over one green eye as she looked Thea over. Apparently since Thea had played along she had more commentary to share. “Hopefully you’ve got a bunch of tissue.”

 

Thea choked, feeling like her entire body lit up in red. She didn’t dare connect her gaze with any of the boys, desperately hoping that they either didn’t hear in their excitement to help put stuff on the conveyer or didn’t understand. “W-well… no… but… they’re uh…” She wasn’t sure how to explain for a moment, but then her excuse to Crystal came back to him. “They’re from a bit of a...uhm… repressed upbringing. So I don’t have to worry about  **that** .”

 

The cashier stopped, her head tilting slightly as she gave Thea a skeptical and yet still somehow deadpan stare. “Honey, my brother’s a Catholic. Their three boys go through tissue so fast they’d better get Christmas cards from Kleenex.” She jutted her chin towards the home goods section. “Aisle 12. I’d suggest making sure you get something that has lotion in it. They bitch about chafing otherwise.”

 

Thea was honestly surprised that the boys didn’t have any comment or hadn’t noticed, but she wasn’t about to ask them about it or even dare to look to see if they had knowing expressions on their faces. She didn’t want to talk about it any more and felt like, at any moment, she would simply keel over from embarrassment alone. “I-I’ll… keep that in mind?” She paused to glance up at the cashier, noting her name. “Thanks for the advice, Nancy.”

 

“Anytime, sweetie,” she chirped back. “You’ll need all the help you can get with this crew.” Nancy paused for a moment, tapping her well-manicured french tipped nails on the glass of the scanner as she looked around the front. Spying what she was looking for, she barked out, “Hey, Dave! Get a cart over here, will you?” A younger, red haired man nodded in response and began walking towards the front doors. Nancy called after him to add, “and a bagger! Or you just get back here and help!”

 

“Sorry to be so much trouble…” Thea offered, rather meekly.

 

“No trouble at all, so long as you’re gonna pay for all this,” Nancy replied, clearly teasing about the last bit as she gave Thea a grin. 

 

Thea chuckled nervously. She’d still have to work that out, but at least she had decent credit so she could charge this to her card and sort out the repayment afterwards.

 

“So,” Nancy started up again, carefully pilling up some items on the other side of the scanner to give herself more room. She glanced over at the door with a slightly irritated expression before returning her full attention to Thea. “Are you all family?”

 

“Not by blood,” Thea replied quickly, knowing full well that the lady would be questioning her explanation. “But we may as well be a big family all the sudden. I’m helping them out for a while.”

 

“Well that’s very kind of you,” she noted, though still focused on her work despite her prodding. “Must have a big place to handle so many boys…”

 

“Yup. Mom had an inn and now it’s mine,” Thea spoke the comment so casually but the fact was still something even she hadn’t gotten used to. “They’ll be working for me for rent, of course. Until they can get on their feet around here.”

 

“Of course! It doesn’t do to spoil people.” She cast her gaze across every brother for a moment before adding, “y’all better work hard!”

 

“We intend to, Miss,” James spoke up. Thea didn’t have to see him to know he at least bowed his head a little. The deference was clear in his tone. “It’s the least we can do for Miss Thea’s hospitality.”

 

Thea chanced a glance up at the cashier only to find her expression one of surprise. “My, I suppose you did indeed find everything~” She murmured, offering a short, quiet whistle to accentuate the point. The innkeeper swallowed, wishing there was a hole in the floor she could just drop into to save her from this exchange. “If my boys were half as polite as yours, my life would be sweet as pie.” Nancy muttered under her breath while she pushed aside the latest item to be scanned, “...and a lot less messy.”

 

Thea couldn’t help but sputter out a small, choked  _ pfft _ at the imagery being brought up. At least this time it wasn’t so embarrassing because it wasn’t about  **her** boys.

 

Dave came running back in with a cart, parking it at the end of the spillway. “There’s a line on 6, I need to get on that,” he said, the ginger’s expression and tone apologetic.

 

Nancy just waved him off with a rather dramatic sigh and Dave shuffled off to the line next to the one he’d talked about, moments later the light came on and he was hard at work.

 

“You must be the manager around here,” Thea noted with a small smile. It was always nice to see women in charge and she was happy to point it out. The nametag just had  _ Customer Service _ on it, but Thea knew that didn’t necessarily denote her position. In stores like these, upfront staff were expected to work a register if the need arose no matter what their job title was.

 

“May as well be!” Nancy barked. “Been here longer than pretty much anyone in this store. But I’ve turned it down before. A grand more a month for twenty more hours a week when I could get five times that with a weekend shift part-time second job? Nah, honey. It ain’t worth it.”

 

Thea’s attention was drawn away as she heard shuffling behind her. James was moving around to the other cart. Erik followed dutifully and Damien wandered along after with his ever-curious expression. Nancy picked up on the movement quickly. “You boys want to be my baggers today?” she asked, glancing over at Thea as if asking for permission.

 

“You’ll need to tell us what that entails, Miss Nancy,” James spoke up for the others just as he always seemed to in these situations. “Miss Thea brought some bags, but I do not think they will hold everything we’re purchasing today…”

 

“You’ll want to put all those totes out on their own so you can fill them easy,” Nancy began, gesturing to the bags that were still carefully tucked against James’s side and around his shoulder. He put them down and pulled each out until they were all available. “As for  **my** bags, it’s easy,” Nancy continued, opening up a plastic bag next to her hip. “Just put items in a bag and then…” she filled up the bag as she spoke, careful not to put so much as to be a rip risk, and grasped the handles to pull it off. “Put the bag in the cart!”

 

Matthew piped up from Thea’s left. “Why can’t we just put the things back in the new cart? Why the bags?”

 

“To make it easier to carry,” Thea replied before Nancy could even open her mouth. “It’d be a massive pain to get all that inside by carrying the items one by one.”

 

“Sam could do that in min—” Matthew started, almost yelping with how quickly he shut his mouth when his brothers and Thea all glared at him. 

 

“Sam?” Nancy asked, tilting her head as she looked at Thea.

 

“His brother.  **Their** brother,” Thea replied hurriedly. “He runs track and works out. Likes to show off.” It was the quickest excuse she could come up with, and she was glad that it was at least believable. “Probably’ll try and race the rest of them to put stuff away.”

 

Matthew scrambled away to keep himself busy and parked himself right beside Nancy to be the first one to bag. 

 

“Sounds like you’ve got their competitions workin’ in your favor,” Nancy noted.

 

The innkeeper chuckled. “Well, mostly. So far. I got the two youngest to go get items for me while I made my way down the aisles.” Thea was happy to note that they were thankfully more than halfway through the cart’s contents. 

 

“Did you have siblings before they took over?”

 

“No.”

 

“Did you babysit?”

 

Thea quirked a brow at Nancy. “Not really...why?”

 

The cashier shrugged. “You’ve just got them well managed already, I’d think you’d’ve had experience wrangling cats, so to speak.”

 

“The eldest, James,” Thea explained, gesturing loosely to the raven-haired male, “helps me a lot. If he weren’t willing to do that, I doubt I’d’ve even gotten them into the car to come here.”

 

“You give yourself too little credit, Princess,” Erik sighed. “We follow your lead because you care so much for us.”

 

Nancy looked thoroughly amused by his words. “Princess?” she echoed, quirking a brow at the bronze-haired male.

 

Erik merely offered a knowing grin in return, his visible violet iris seeming almost to shimmer for a moment. Thea caught James lightly pushing at his brother’s shoulder with a reprimanding glare. The violet eye fluttered closed as Erik chuckled.

 

“That’s quite a nickname for you all not having been together long…” Nancy commented off hand.

 

“Yeah, well, Erik’s certainly extra. That’s for sure,” Thea sighed. “And we knew each other before. Part of their upbringing did entail being good to women, so that’s helpful.” She was amazed at her own ability to bullshit on the fly. She had no idea what their upbringings were like, but she just kept pulling more information out of her ass from her initial insistence that they were from a ‘repressed’ upbringing out west.

 

“It’d not every day you get called that,” Nancy chided her with a cat-like grin. “Don’t brush it aside so much and enjoy it.”

 

“Yes, Princess,  **enjo** —”

 

James all but rammed his elbow into his brother’s ribs, causing Erik to shut his mouth with a hard  _ clack  _ and breathe hard through his nose for a few moments. “Was that  **really** necessary…?” Erik almost growled at his brother, lightly testing the wound with brush of his fingers.

 

“Yes,” James replied curtly.

 

Both Nancy and Thea laughed at that, though the latter felt a bit guilty about it.

 

“Seems you do have quite the herder at your disposal,” Nancy commented.

 

Thea just nodded in agreement, looking over to offer an apologetic smile at Erik. The gesture seemed to perk him up and he offered her a wink in return. She quickly turned away again at that to refocus. At this point she needed to lean over the cart and try to get at the bottom of the container. They were almost done and the boys had almost caught up to them in bagging. She was looking forward to being under far less scrutiny again.

 

She emptied the items in the cart onto the conveyor as quickly as she could without looking like she was upset or panicking. Thea had felt like she was being stared at from the moment she’d leaned over and she quickly stood up and turned herself back towards Nancy to hopefully stop it. Thea told herself that it was just her imagination, but she didn’t even glance to the boys to confirm or deny her suspicions. Instead, she fumbled around with her little backpack to get her wallet out. By the time Nancy asked her what kind of payment, she was hovering over the card swipe with her credit card. 

 

Even though she knew how much money was in the suitcase back at the inn, Thea’s face blanched at the well over $600 total. If Nancy noticed her distress, she remained blessedly quiet about it. The transaction cleared on her credit card without any issue, so there was no further cause for concern.

 

“Have a good day, honey,” Nancy said, offering the younger woman another broad grin. “Good luck!” She looked pointedly at the boys before adding, “and you don’t give her any trouble, you hear?”

 

“Of course not,” Erik insisted, batting his eye for an additional innocent effect. He opened his mouth to say more, but Matthew laughed at his brother’s display and Erik quickly lost his act to glare at his younger brother. Matthew only moved out of arm’s length before continuing to laugh.

 

Damien was actually the one who properly replied this time, since James was trying re-adjust some bags to make sure others didn’t fall out of the cart. The ginger’s voice was quiet but steady. “Treating her well is the least we can do, considering all she does for us.”

 

Thea’s cheeks tinted pink and she pulled up a hand to muffle a cough. “Alright, alright… you’re all adorable. I think Nancy gets it now…”

 

“Can I have the candy now, Thea?” Matthew asked as the group slowly made its way to the automatic doors. 

 

“We can grab some for you all to try when we put the groceries in the car and I’ll let you have the bag when we get home,” Thea replied. She had some trouble getting the cart out the doors because of the little bump along the floor but the boys all pulled on the cart and they got over it and out into the parking lot.

 

The thought of getting all this in her car, however, made her brows furrow. She wasn’t at all sure how that was going to work. What did she have in her trunk? She tried to remember what had been in there aside from her tote bags but she hadn’t really been paying much attention. At least she’d cleared the car out before so there’d be more space… but hopefully the boys wouldn’t mind having groceries all around them and in their laps. That was the only way Thea could see this working.

 

By the time the new puzzle was figured out, there was barely any room for the brothers to move in the car. Every one of them had no floor space left in front of them and had at least one bag in their laps; they had even put some up in the back window while leaving a column of space for Thea to be able to see behind her. Damien and James seemed the least bothered by this arrangement, but at least Matthew and Erik kept their discomfort contained to their expressions and malcontented wriggling to attempt (in vain) to get a better position within the stuffed car. The only thing that made Thea feel remotely better was that she’d given Matthew a lollipop from the bag of candy and offered chocolate bars to the rest. Damien was munching away happily on his but James and Erik had declined for the moment.

 

“What was Nancy talking about?” Damien piped up after they’d gotten going.

 

Thea could only be glad that he’d waited until she got a feel for the new level of weight in the car before asking. “She talked about a lot of things,” she replied, chuckling. “You’ll have to be more specific, cinnamon roll.” Despite her reply, she had an inkling as to what he was curious about, but she didn’t want to talk about it so she hoped that wasn’t what he was interested in.

 

“She talked about you needing tissues,” he clarified. “A lot of tissues. Why?”

 

There it was. Thea sighed heavily, doing her best to push the blushing embarrassment away and replace it with irritation. There was no easy way to explain this, so she may as well get it over with. “Human guys, especially younger ones, jerk off a lot.”

 

“Jerk… off?” Damien echoed, tilting his head.

 

Thea sighed. “Touch themselves. Sexually,” she attempted to clarify, then quickly barrelled forward in order to hopefully dissuade more questions. “It’s...kind of entertainment, I guess? They get, uh… stimulated… easily. It makes them feel better for at least little bit. The tissues are so, uhm… seed?... doesn’t get on the sheets or wherever.”

 

“The ‘it’ you mentioned being orgasm, I assume?” James suggested smoothly.

 

Thea glanced over at him with a quirked brow, surprised by how nonplussed he was by the topic, but quickly turned her attention back to driving. “Yeah,  **that** ,” she replied crisply. “Anyway, I don’t think it’ll be an issue. Since there’s nothing around to get you guys stirred up… if you even do…” This felt really weird to talk about and she wished it would stop already but the brothers weren’t done.

 

“Oh, we can certainly get ‘stirred up’, Princess,” Erik assured her in a purr. “But if the attention isn’t reciprocated it’s usually easy to calm down. Humans must have more difficulty with that part.”

 

“Yeah, that must be nice…” Thea mused, trying her damndest to shut this down but also not to be rude.

 

“You said guys do it a lot,” Matthew piped up, apparently needing his own clarification on top of his brothers’. “What about girls? Surely you must do it more, then.”

 

Thea wanted to sigh about not being allowed out of this topic, but his question was so off the wall she couldn’t help but furrow her brows in confusion. That was a logic leap that she had no idea how he made. “Why ‘must’ we do it more?”

 

She had been expecting James to jump in to explain, but it was apparently now Erik’s turn to teach her a little bit of their home. “Well, Princess— at least in the Abyssal Plains— while males tend to be fairly aggressive about our wants, succubi are certainly not wilting flowers about it. An adult succubi with her estrus active is apparently quite the sight and experience…” His voice curled into a purr at the latter explanation. It took him a moment to refocus. “Surely your dynamics are the same, considering both our races were supposedly birthed from a human woman.”

 

_ With her estrus active…? _ She asked herself, wanting to understand what he meant but also not wanting to touch the topic of reproduction with a 1,000 foot pole. She shook her head, a small smile at her lips for a brief moment as she thought about the differences. “Sorry to disappoint you boys, but it’s not the same. Women are almost exclusively taught to hide or repress their sexuality. Men are taught to embrace it wholeheartedly, but only if they’re into women.”

 

A quick flicker of her gaze to her right and to the rear-view mirror showed Thea that apparently all of them seemed confused by that, but it was James who spoke up about it. “What do you mean ‘only if they’re into women’?”

 

Thea looked over at him again, brows furrowed once more. Did they seriously not know what ‘gay’ was? “Do you all not have sexualities? Are you attracted to anyone?”

 

“We have sex and in general pull pleasure from partners,” James replied. “We have preferences in what our mate would look or act like, perhaps, but… the description you gave makes it seem like more than that. Are there rules regarding sexual interaction here?”

 

The idea that there were no stigmas on who one could sleep with was a bit shocking to Thea, but she supposed it made sense as she thought it over in her own head. Why limit yourself to a specific gender if all you needed was pleasure to feed from? That could come from anyone, regardless of their reproductive capabilities. Hell, that could theoretically extend to people without parts or with no interest in sex… though she supposed the latter would be a tad more difficult for them to get properly fed.

 

“...you restrict yourselves only to partners that can breed you or can be bred by you depending on your own capabilities?” Damien interrupted, bringing her train of thought to a screeching halt in order to answer him. Clearly he’d been following along in her head as she thought about what was ‘normal’ here.

 

“That’s… a weird way of saying it, but yes. It’s still a bit of a collective social ‘gasp’ if you decide to love someone with your same ‘parts’,” Thea managed to reply after gathering her wits again. “I’ve never seen an issue with it, considering it certainly doesn’t affect anyone else and we have too many people on this planet as it is so there’s no need to have more biological children. Adopt the ones that were left behind. Easy. Done.”

 

“Glad to know that you’re different from most humans, then,” Matthew interjected, offering up a grin as Thea glanced back at him in the rear view mirror. “We’ll be taught by someone special~”

 

“Of course, and she’s a grand teacher!” Erik huffed, sounding almost insulted. “Our Princess is terribly special. Wonderful, perfect—”

 

“Okay, okay…” Thea sighed, holding up a hand and waving it nonchalauntly to insist he stop. “That’s more than enough idle flattery, Erik.”

 

“I-it— It wasn’t—”

 

“Wasn’t it?” she countered quickly. “Vague and over the top… sounded like vapid praise to me.” Thea paused to chuckle and then glanced at him in the mirror. “I appreciate the sentiment, Erik but it’s really not necessary.”

 

“Then I shall have to find  **specific** things to mention in the future. I’m sure there is much material to pull from,” the bronze-haired male replied with a wink as she looked back at him, apparently having regained his wit.

 

Thea just shook her head and smirked to herself, apparently that being the involuntary reaction from her when it came to Erik’s attempts. Thankfully for her concentration she spotted the sign for the Fox’s Hideaway and a true smile of relief lit up her features. Despite the expression, the words that dropped from her lips were not happy. “Sam better not have broken anything while we were away…”

 

“If he has, we will repair it and I will make certain he apologizes appropriately,” James assured her.

 

She just kept driving, looking up the hill to the inn as soon as she could see the building. “...doesn’t look like there’s any new damage…” she muttered under her breath. Pulling into the parking lot she swallowed and made sure to unlock all the doors before turning off the engine and taking out the key.  _ Alright. It’ll be fine. Nothing’s happened. There’s no more bullshit to deal with today… _ she thought to herself in a mantra as she exited the car.

 

Thea had barely stood up before Sam was in her face. “There are 128 weak points in the building.” He spoke in a deadpan tone that took her off guard almost as much as the commentary itself. “Those side ones probably have more.”

 

“...what?” There was nothing else she could think to say to that. Why was he scouting out the weak points in their building? It was better than him destroying parts, of course, but...

 

“You humans build with shit materials. The stones aren’t even that dense.”

 

_ Who builds with straight up stone anymore? _ She couldn’t help but ask herself. There were so many basic things like this that they didn’t yet know and it was terribly taxing to try and explain. Not to mention that Sam wasn’t helping the situation by insulting humanity’s progression. “They’re not stone, they’re brick!”

 

“Hardened clay?” the brunet barked out, a look of disbelief flashing across his face. “Are you stupid? That’s not something you build a house out of!”

 

“Well, number one,  **I** didn’t build it. And, number two, that’s just how we build things here,” she tapped the two fingers she’d brought up while talking to further emphasize her words. Thea let her hand drop for a moment as she managed to refocus enough to slip around him. She shoved the keys in the trunk lock and turned it. The normally satisfying  _ pop _ did little to soothe her as she pulled open the tightly packed trunk. “What did you expect, Sam?” she snapped, gesturing broadly at the building with her arm after turning her attention back to the incubus. “It’s an  **inn** , for chrissake! It’s a place for people to relax, not a damn barracks in a war zone.”

 

“Still needs to have real defenses.”

 

“What do you suggest, then?” Thea asked, tilting her head slightly and putting a hand to her hip. “That we invest in  **battlements** ?!” It was meant to be a bit of a joke, hyperbole even— 

 

“...that’d be a start.”

 

Thea groaned so loudly that the noise reverberated in her chest. When that display was exhausted, she put her face in her hands. “I can’t do this right now. Help your brothers get the groceries into the kitchen,” she finally muttered after lifting her head enough to be heard and walking past him without another word.

 

“What’s wrong with  **her** ?” Sam asked his brothers after a few moments of watching the woman walk off in stunned and yet still slightly irritated silence.

 

“Ah, well… apparently women here are far more...how shall we say…? ‘Tightly-strung’ than our succubi,” Erik offered the first reply, arms laden with several bags. He leaned over to speak a bit quieter as he watched Thea struggle with the front door before pushing it aside and walking through. “Forgive our Princess, brother, she’s also been worried about what you were doing here all by yourself.”

 

“Yeah, well—” Sam started, interrupting himself with an irritated huff. “I didn’t  **do** anything!” He was trying to help. He kept himself busy, just like she’d asked. Nothing was broken— 

 

“Hopefully you didn’t actually  **test** the brick…” James mused, also walking by him weighed down with bags.

 

Sam didn’t reply to that one. He’d thought it was stone. There was a corner piece missing on one of the back portions, but it shouldn’t bother the foundation or the wall. He didn’t need to tell Thea about that… right?

 

“Don’t worry,” Damien assured Sam with a small smile as he finally found his way out of the car with a quiet grunt of effort. “She’s not actually mad at you.”


End file.
